TODAY's post is mainly on the subject that's been occupying almost all my time over the past week or so, the new Museum of Liverpool opening, but it also covers the Dirty Dancing tour launch and some interesting arts-related links featuring photographer Mitch Epstein and Martin Scorcese, who's filmed a new documentary on George Harrison.

Finally, after 10 years of waiting the new Museum of Liverpool will open tomorrow - at least most of it will, we'll have to wait until the autumn for the History Detectives, Great Port, Kings Regiment and Liverpool Overhead Railway galleries.

I went for a tour last week and wrote this piece all about it for today's Daily Post. It was quite a strange experience walking around a museum that's intended for hundreds of visitors at any one time yet there were only a few of us in there. We had to wear yellow hard hats, fluorescent jackets and walking boots as the contractors were completing their work, even though it's far from being a building site.

IT'S been a big week for the visual arts in Liverpool with two exhibitions opening at Tate Liverpool and another at the Walker Art Gallery. You can read my features on Magritte: The Pleasure Principle, Art In Revolution: Liverpool 1911 and Robert Therrien: Smoke Signals by clicking on the links.

I spent yesterday between both galleries gorging myself on beautiful art works, including Paul Gauguin's Sister of Charity, Vincent Van Gogh's Hayricks and Paul Sérusier's Breton Women in the Rain. But it was in front of Liverpool artist James Hamilton Hay's Falling Star that I, for a moment or two, considered a Thomas Crowne Affair style heist. My favourite Magritte's included The Night Owl, which I later found out inspired the poster for film The Exorcist, and The Key To The Fields - a broken window where the shattered panes of glass have retained the image that would have been behind it when it was whole.

IT WAS a triumphant Paul McCartney who held the O2 Academy stage for two-and-a-half hours last night, barely pausing for breath in a good-humoured homecoming gig packed with sing-along hits.

He saved the 1969 single Get Back until the end of his first encore, but it would have better fitted the introduction as the recently announced concert was, as the ex-Beatle said himself, a nostalgia trip.

Warmly greeting the audience as if they were a handful of people rather than a crowd of hundreds, Macca shared memories of Liverpool between songs; writing One After 909 with John Lennon in the McCartney's Forthlin Road council house and being born in Walton Hospital - "in World War I," he cracked.

PRETTY chuffed by this - after I posted a photographer of New Jersey man James Lehr's John Lennon tattoo as part of this blog post about the late Beatle's 70th birthday celebrations, he found the blog and commented on it.

Here is what he had to say. . .

Thank you liverpool for John Lennon. This has not ben the first celebration for John nor will it be the last. I was compelled to get that tattoo that got me recognized by Tina Fineberg in Central Park on that beautiful Sat morning.

I had just had the tattoo done a few months ago and had not realy displayed it till that day.

IN PICTURES, here is how John Lennon's 70th birthday was celebrated around the world yesterday.

WITH the Mathew Street Festival and Beatles Week approaching, Liverpool is Fab Four-tastic at the moment. It's not all mop tops and tribute acts though. Here are some arty ways to get into the Beatles mood...

1. Astrid Kirchherr's retrospective at the Victoria Gallery and Museum 

THIS is a new blog that will complement the Daily Post's in print LDP Arts pages and our online arts and entertainment section.

While I believe we do a good job of covering Merseyside's cultural venues and events - and in fact the Daily Post dedicates more pages to the arts than any other regional paper in the country outside London - there are always too many shows to write about and too many exhibitions to fit in the paper.

I'm not certainly not complaining about the wealth of culture in the city. It just means that we have to find other ways of covering it, and this blog is one of them.

As well as widening the geographical area of our coverage to events readers will be interested in across the North West and further afield, I will be sharing behind the scenes gossip and giving you a chance to share your views too.

Don't forget you can also follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Hope you enjoy reading...

Title "red curtains" image by KRO-Media