Sunset and evening star

Ah well that's another turn around the solar system completed. I hear so many saying this year has been a bad one, worst year ever and so on and so forth. I admit I've known better ones but none quite so surprising. Still if you're reading this at least you're not dead; you can always eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.

Margot is responsible for the title of this post. "Use "Crossing the Bar"" says she, "seems apt... "

Crossing the Bar

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.
                                           Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Cheerful beggar old Alfie! 

Chin up then and keep buggering on. I'd wish you all a Happy New Year but that doesn't seem to work any more ...

You see the world turned upside down

"Yet let's be content and the times lament, 

You see the world turned upside down."

I'm posting this picture upside down because, in line with just about everything this year, it looks better that way.

Margot took this while standing on her head in Cottingham.

The weekend in black and white could possibly be here.

To see oursels as ithers see us!

Things to do on trains: part 1
Take silly pictures of yourself and get gawped at by other passengers.

This was taken somewhere between here and there, sometime ago by somebody.

Cottingham lights up again

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers and sponsorship from local shops Cottingham puts on a decent display of seasonal lights considering it's only a village (albeit the biggest in England). It almost rivals Blackpool ... almost.

Rudolph the red-nosed automaton

With a head that slowly and eerily moves from left to right and back again this illuminated monstrosity is meant to bring seasonal cheer to passers-by. Hmmmm

No Trains Again

We always go for a short walk down Snuff Mill Lane towards sunset on Christmas Day  just to play on the rails and take silly pictures like this. Here's some we did earlier.

Tangled up in blue

Over in Trinity Square the finishing touches to this year's marathon makeover were being put in place the other day. I noticed this figure wrapped in blue plastic. It's the reinstated statue of Andrew Marvell. This seems to be a more modest presentation as previously he was atop four or five steps and surrounded by four concrete balls. Naturally those steps were the place for alkies and druggies to while the day away. Where will they go now, those poor souls?

And jumping over to the other side of town to the junction of King Edward Street and Jameson Street this was the scene late on Wednesday still with a rush to complete by Christmas Eve. Still with the old orange barriers and still a fair few paving blocks to be laid. I haven't been back since then but the local paper reports that Jameson Street, off to the left, is now clear of barriers though the response from readers seems somewhat mixed.

And as ever a job is not done until it has been seen to be done by at least five other workers ...

If you've reached this far it only remains for me to wish you all a "Happy Whatever It Is You May Be Celebrating" this exceedingly mild December 25 ...

He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake...

A local house had this somewhat menacing gigantic Santa in the window. It's  enough to put anyone off their turkey and trimmings ...Ho Ho Ho.

As the evening sky grew dark

There you go; tree, lights and an illuminated fountain. Who says I don't do Xmas?

The moving plod plods; and, having plodded, plods on.

In the  glad confident years of the end of the last century Humberside Police spent well if not too wisely and opened little stations at various places throughout the town and outer regions. One such was this in Pearson Park, next door to the mosque since you ask. There was another built on Beverley Road not four hundred yards from this... Total waste of money. Although it was a station it never seemed to have anyone in it and the couple of times I needed to contact the old Bill I had to use a phone installed in the doorway which put me through to some distant operator who took a message and promised to "see to my query" (meaning get lost and don't bother us we're having our tea break). 

Well you probably know where this is heading ... 2008, the political choice to impose austerity and so on meant that Humberside Police had to close these places in the name of efficiency (an admission if one were needed that these places weren't an efficient use of resources) and they also rashly sacked hundreds of officers. I must just mention in passing that Hull now has the highest burglary rate outside of London (hoorah!) ... maybe it's unconnected and really due to all that culture, who can say?.

So, anyhow,  if you want a big Victorian villa in Pearson Park with nice quiet neighbours apply to the Humberside Police...

Old woss'is name lived 'ere.

‘It was the top flat of a house that was reputedly the American Consulate during the war, and though it might not have suited everybody, it suited me’. 

                                                                   Philip Larkin

Pip Larkin gets a small plaque for his endurance if nothing else; eighteen years in an attic flat overlooking Pearson Park. I'd liked to have shown more of the place, a large Victorian town house, but high hedges and a high gate with a 'Beware of the Dog' sign, along with sounds of said dog sniffling and growling around somewhat put me off. Visitors to next year's city of culture are duly warned.

Why did the zebra cross the road?

Zebra had to close earlier this year due to the landlord raising the rent by about 50%.  This is the newly reopened Zebra still on Newland Avenue just across the road, in fact, close to the zebra crossing (yes, I know, it's just too much). Anyhow here's wishing Ann good luck in this relaunch.

We'd like to build a little extension ...

There's been a mosque in Pearson Park since the late 90's. It was in a converted Victorian villa and as the congregation grew many worshippers had to pray outside in what was the front garden. Clearly not an ideal situation especially when it rains. So plans were submitted for an extension to the rear and after the usual delays and objections from the neighbours (t'was ever thus) consent was given in 2011 and so now Hull has this rather pleasant little addition to its skyline and the prayerful get to keep their heads dry in wet weather.

Tree Doodle

Over in Pearson Park a chestnut tree about to be felled due to being rotten has been transformed into this interesting oddity; a three headed being each head having a crown and an outstretched arm holding an ice-cream. There's not a lot to say about it really. I like it.

There's another dead tree close by if anyone fancies having a go.

It's beginning to look a lot like that old end-of-year scam season again

Do you recall the Xmasses of yore when families gathered round a blazing log fire and exchanged small gifts of oranges or maybe an apple if you were lucky, while outside was a snowy Winter wonderland with robins singing among the berries of the holly tree? Nah! Me neither it's always been a greedy money grabbing time of flog them a pile of unwanted dross and make them feel guilty if they don't join in the 'Festive Fun'. As everything is 'done by computer' these days why not invent an app (I think that's the word) that will virtually exchange your presents from one machine to another, no actual goods will be harmed by this transaction as only money will move from your account to the dealer's. Then you can take pictures of yourself smiling as you 'unpack' your 'gift' and you can share your delight with millions of others by the magic of social networks. Awesome! Oh hang on, I think that's already happening ...

Margot took this picture.

Deep in darkness

I've shown this old fish tank and penguin prison many times before but always with the sun up and and a bright blue sky. Here it is in a bit of late evening gloom.

The weekend in black and white is here.

Weekend Reflections are here.

Change of signs

Just two and half weeks now to the C of C and what better time to change all the boundary signs to advertise this auspicious event. Pedants have already moaned at the abbreviated name; "Wot no Kingston-Upon-Hull!" 'tis an outrage! a sin against nature! have they no sense of history! and so on. Still no-one on the planet, not even the pedants themselves, call the place anything other than Hull. If you are wondering what the old signs looked like they were very blue and yellow which may go down well in Sweden but to me they weren't very welcoming. I think this is something of an improvement. The UK C of C thing is going to date in a few years meaning even more signs; it all makes work for the working man to do.

Quite Gratuitous

Well now there's  Margot saying the other day "Oh that'll be removed in a day or so". "What?" says I. "The bare backsides advertising a student accommodation agent" says herself. "The what now? Surely not ..." says I in all innocence. "Oh! ... I see what you mean" ...

And there's more; there's two gentlemen with their trousers around their ankles and the "Your place or mine?" tagline ... and all this on staid old Newland Avenue. There's not be such goings on since a dominatrix was boarded up in a massage parlour a couple of years back.

Now I don't mind a bit of smutty innuendo now and then I mean it's so full of, well, do I need to draw you a picture?. But not everyone, it seems, shares my view which is perhaps just as well. So cue the obligatory social media indignation from the PC (Puritanical Claptrap) brigade, the perennially silly and ever available for a quote MP for North Hull up on her hind legs with Tweets about "sleaze" and "brothels" and "portrayals of sex acts" (such a dirty mind she must have). And the cries of it objectifying women (but not men, note) and "will no-one think of the children" (who see far more and worse on their computers and phones before breakfast) etc etc etc. Those who wished to be offended were duly offended which is as it should be and they are no doubt smugly content.

Anyhow the accommodation agency have "organised the immediate removal of the images" but not so immediate that I was unable to take a leisurely stroll back down Newland Avenue to refresh my memory and verify my facts as it were.

Joining the dots

Do they still have those games for children where you have to draw a line from one number to the next until a kind of hazy picture emerged and you were supposed to think, wow, I drew that? I've often wondered if working in an office might not be just a bigger paid version of the same thing. 

The weekend in black and white is here.

Falling haloes, whips and other seasonal failings

It's that time of year for silly window displays. Here we have some seemingly drunken winking mannequins tottering over to starboard with haloes at what can only be called a jaunty angle. If the intent was to say that angels get their kit at this shop I think it merits a glorious fail.

A few doors down we have a mannequin with a whip for no discernible reason. Maybe for some festive flagellation; who knows. Maybe whipping up trade ... any way another fail I think.

And speaking of failure these shops are on Whitefriargate which, in the past, has had seasonal lighting that at least looked faintly impressive. This year there's a tawdry single string of lights. Pathetic really, maybe they shouldn't have bothered.

Use Alternative Crossing

I may have mentioned, from time to time, the troubles and tribulations caused to this wonderful town by the presence of the A63 sometimes known as Castle Street and universally regarded as a pain in the fundament. Well now Highways England which is responsible for all this decided to upgrade a pedestrian crossing and work commenced in October ... and here we are at the end of the first week of December with no crossing, no upgrade, no work being done, no workers on site, nada, rien, zip!. Questions are asked by Councillors as to just what on earth is going on here (not a lot, clearly). Highways England are the folk who have promised to improve this road but have yet to submit planning applications ("We're working on it", they say and have been saying for years) and if it takes this long for them to upgrade a crossing (come to think of it how do you upgrade a crossing?) then I shudder to think how long any improvements to the actual road will take. 

Just a little footnote here. This crossing is the most direct route to the Marina and Fruit Market area where many of next year's City of Culture events are happening. That all kicks off in a little over three weeks. Just sayin' is all.

Camera shy

I thought I had seen most of this town's statues so it was a bit of a surprise to catch this lump out of the corner of my corner as I was passing through Zebedee's Yard the other day. The reason I hadn't seen it before was that it's in an enclosed yard behind a wall and only visible through iron bars in window-like openings which explains the odd angle. There's a much better picture of it here along with a little info. 

'Ole in the ground, so big and sort o' round it was

After a vote of residents on what they wanted for the remains of the Beverley Gate (aka the Hull Hole) the Council, in its wisdom, decided not to cover up the few old bricks but instead create an even bigger hole with seating and landscaping and so on. Quite how this bigger, better hole won't end up the haunt of disaffected young folks and who will pick up the litter that will inevitably fall in I don't know. Still I'd better not make too many adverse comments or I might end up like the poor chap in this cautionary tale; enjoy:

Rising in the East

These impressive towers, just a shade under 300 feet (I'm of an age that doesn't do metric), are the first outward sign that production has really gotten off the ground at the new Siemens wind power plant in east Hull. The blades that go with these babies are nearly 250 feet long. When it comes to wind power it seems size matters. These are destined to sit in the North Sea and power our homes and industry at least while the wind blows. I suppose we'll get used to seeing these things over the coming years but they were quite a surprise when first seen the other day.

Orange men

Queen Victoria Square was veritable hive of activity as the finishing touches are applied to the multi-million pound make over. We are absolutely assured that it will all be completed this month all that is except the new water features which won't be activated until Winter is over. I toyed with using this for the 'transitions' theme yesterday but I realised that actually nothing much has changed just the size of the brick paving. 

 

The barriers of course remain and if anything the maze has become even more complicated to pass through. In this picture you can see some of the old paving bricks that somehow have survived. They weren't pretty. Below the new paving which is more varied but hardly eye-catching and certainly not worth the months of disruption and loss of trade and business.

The end of November

It's not often people stop and gawp at the sky but yesterday's flaming sunset was quite a spectacle and had folks looking up in amazement. I stood by the river and watched the old Sol Invictus disappear behind Lincolnshire's pylons and, of course, I pointed my camera at it just like you're not supposed to (eyesight is overrated).

Today's first of the month theme for City Daily Photo is "Transitions".