Bernard's in the picture
Comic's ashes in mosiac portrait
A mosaic portrait of Bernard Manning has been unveiled on the front of his Manchester club – incorporating his ashes.Some of his remains were sprinkled between the porcelain fragments that make up the artwork on the wall of the World Famous Embassy Club.
Local artist Mark Kennedy was commissioned to make the mosaic by the comic's son, Young Bernard, to mark the first anniversary of his death.
The artwork replaces an old image of Manning that bore little resemblance to him, which previously hung over the door.
Young Bernard told the Manchester Evening News: ‘We weren't going to tell anybody that his ashes were in there and spent a long time discussing it as a family. It's a fitting thing because his heart and soul was in the Embassy Club. Now his fans can look up as they are passing and say, “Oh, there's Bernard.” I think he would have thought it was a great touch.’
The mosaic is made from the smashed remnants of Royal Doulton pottery which Kennedy found at car boot sales, and faces if the royal family can be seen in Manning’s Union Jack waistcoat.
Click here to watch a brief video of the mosaic.
Published: 19 Jun 2008
