Rollin' at sea, adrift on the water

Fireworks on a school night! Who'd have thought 

Himself and me took a wee run along the coast (by wee run, I mean 5 miles).. to Irvine, where the Maritime Museum is hosting a festival of light.

We arrived just in time for the fireworks, which were being let off on the derelict site of "The Big Idea".  The Big Idea, was the fore-runner to the Glasgow Science Centre; it even bloody looks the same, but then they built one in Glasgow and shut the one in Irvine.    

We stood in front of the Cross Keys - an empty pub, which sat in front of the Magnum leisure centre where I spent many a formative year, but it's getting knocked down too. 

Don't get me wrong, the Harbour Front at Irvine is a king to when I used to roam there - when I roamed, there were derelict houses, that the local town worthy slept in, from the station to the Magnum, there were two pub - the Harbour Lights and the Cross keys.   

Now there are beautiful flats running the length of the road; what was waste land has also been reclaimed and built up with the  most beautiful stylish homes.  The homes all surround the Maritime Museum which stretches from the harbour side up the side streets to the Shipyard buildings. 

the area has grown to a proper, wee grown up arts centre.  Beside the museum there is the Harbour Arts Centre, a Coffee bar, a coffee shop, a bar diner, which has a music venue upstairs, and artists galleries where you can go and visit the artists at work. 

and of course, it's home to my most current, favourite haunt.  

Vanilla Joe's  Ice cream bar extra-ordinaire!