Fall into monochrome

For some reason the usual Autumnal change in leaf colour has been very disappointing. Leaves are going from green to a dirty grey/brown and then dropping off. Maybe we'll have some colour later on.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat ....

A sunny Autumn day brought some rowers onto East Park lake. The chilly wind (that the camera does not show) didn't seem to affect these hardy souls tough. 

Red and white

Geese in flight

They say a poor workman blames his tools so I'm blaming my camera's delay for the slight blur not to say lack of focus on these shots.  

Parky

The cold of last year seems to have gone for now leaving a frozen park lake and lots of juicy reflections.

But is it art?

No, not some modernist sculpture on display in Hull's East Park, this is an outdoor gym. At a cost of £40,000 the NHS has provided those who wish to make fools of themselves in public a generous gift.  There are many obese people in Hull and this was intended to provide them with free facilities for exercise. Maybe they are shy as I have yet to see anybody actually use it.
Amazingly the equipment is still unvandalised after 6 months.

Autumn Colour

I may have moaned about the changes to East Park in previous postings but this avenue has thankfully been spared. The park was looking splendid yesterday as most of the trees were now at their Autumn best. You can see some more photos here.

Best Park?

East Park has been named the best park in Yorkshire. It is the first time a park in Hull has won the award, which is given out by Yorkshire In Bloom. East Park is now a desert given over to "recreations", I hope they are all so happy with the "award"

 

Swanboats or swans;  ...you can't have both.

 

Community washing in East Park ....

A white pair

No visit to the park would be complete without some ducks in a pond. These are the whitest ducks I've ever seen.

Menagerie Collage

When East Park was renovated they built an animal compound with a large walk-through aviary to replace an older more ramshackle affair. There's a motley collection of animals, birds and fishes though the deer that used to be in the park seem to have gone. 

East Park Model Boat Pond

The pond was designed by borough engineer Joseph Fox Sharp and opened on 21st June 1887 (Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee day). I've not seen any children sailing boats on this pond so maybe the craze for doing so has been lost since I was a little 'un.

The boat pond is still used but by much older "children" with expensive radio controlled boats that must cost a small fortune.

East Park, Hull

Hull has a river running through it which effectively splits the city in two. People tend to have an affinity to one side or the other. East Hull has the docks, west Hull had the fishing and food processing factories. Even the buses do not run from one side to the other. To get from where I live in west Hull to east Hull, I have to go into town and change buses. There is no through service.

This lake and fine restored bridge are in East Park, off Holderness Road, the main shopping area in East Hull. The park was recently cleaned up and renovated, not necessarily for the better. The lake, for example, had four or five small islands that broke up what is now a dull stretch of water. They were simply removed. I suppose they had to do something about the general decay that was overtaking the place but I miss the old mess and clutter. It's too clean and tidy for my liking.

This picture was taken about three weeks ago; the trees are more advanced now, though the weather is, if anything, much colder.