Little Boy Giant and Xolo the giant dog sleeping at Mann Island, Pier Head, Liverpool, UK

            I hadn't managed to catch up with the Giants until the siesta of their second day awake in Liverpool (the Little Boy Giant had been sleeping in St George's Hall for a further day before that), so this was my first view of them, sleeping outside the Port of Liverpool Building.

Standing 2¾ m tall and weighing 200 kg, Xolo the giant dog is the smallest and friendliest of the Giants, and the only one to have visited Liverpool all three times (or is he...?). It was a real thrill to see him again, in his familiar repose on a stack of coffee sacks. Awake, he's the fastest giant, often scampering at 4 km/hr; no wonder most of his 23 attendant Lilliputians ride the vehicle seen behind Xolo.

This was the Little Boy Giant's first visit to the city, though local sources (all seeming to quote the same press release) claim he was the very first giant encountered (they say 'made') by Royal de Luxe, inspired by the Company's work in African villages, and was first seen publicly in Cameroon in 1997.
The Royal de Luxe website acknowledges that the Company was there in 1997 and the Little Boy Giant definitely appeared with them in Le Havre, France in 1998, but it also says that Royal de Luxe had accompanied The Giant (aka Giant Uncle, aka Shipwrecked Giant) nine times before that, as early as 1993, and the Giants don't seem to have joined the Cameroon trip at all.
Similarly, Royal de Luxe have been a little confused about the Giants' family links. Previous events said the Little Boy Giant is brother to the Little Girl Giant and is The Giant's adopted son, yet The Giant is the Little Girl Giant's uncle, and, er, she beheaded her father in 2007.

Anyway, he's 6 m tall and weighs 600 kg – less than might be expected, but still enough to justify the attendance of 27 Lilliputians (23 specialists from Royal de Luxe and 4 local) to help him negotiate the crowds and ensure his comfort.

Various press coverage claims this is the Royal de Luxe’s final ever time in the city, but I'm not sure that's accurate. It's the last outing for the Giants, worldwide, but the Company already has plans for other projects, perhaps involving a gorilla, and I haven't heard that they definitely won't return to Liverpool in some capacity.

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Liverpool / Pier Head (show map)

Taken on: October 6, 2018

Tags:

xolo

giant

little boy giant

mann island

liverpool

waterfront

merseyside

royal de luxe

liverpool's dream

giant spectacular

spectacular

theatre

event

pier head

xoloitzcuintli

puppet

marionette

marionnette

port of liverpool building

vehicle

monochrome

black and white

asleep « less

Sets appears in: • Liverpool's Dream 2018 (Sat)

Groups appears in: • Liverpool • Royal de Luxe more » • Royal de Luxe Central • Merseyside « less

Camera: Canon EOS 60D, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 18mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 60D
Lens:	EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	18mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Partial
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (Windows)
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