Salisbury and Park

Here's the intersection of Salisbury Street and Park Avenue showing the somewhat quaint Queen Anne style fronts designed by George Gilbert Scott. Did the Council really have to put that road sign just there; I mean it wasn't there a few years back. Are drivers really so thick they need to be told to go round a roundabout? (Don't answer that.) There are mermaids too but doesn't every street have mermaids?

I had to change the title of this post as I had the avenue  before the street and that is a big no-no with our American friends who tell us how to live, who we should get our technology from, who our friends should be, who should be our Prime Minister, how we should write our own language, and which way we should pee in the morning (For this relief much thanks ...) We're touched by your presence, no really, we are, touched.

The Hull Mermaid

 

There have been many reports of mermaids throughout the centuries and most have been hoaxes. Perhaps the most notable was that of Phineas Taylor Barnum and his "Feejee Mermaid" hoax in New York in 1842. This specimen, however, was acquired by a noted marine biologist, Sir Alistair Hardy FRS, in 1934 and so we can have no doubts as to its authenticity. It is on display in Hull's Maritime Museum.

Mermaid Fountain

At some time in the 1870s life in Hull was so unexciting that it was decided to liven things up a bit by installing a set of six mermaid fountains in what was then the rich part of town, the Avenues. Over the years these beauties have been moved around, destroyed,  rebuilt and become part of the community. I hear strange things happen around here on New Year's Eve ....

This picture shows the Westbourne Avenue fountain, just visible in the distance is Park Avenue's version. Recently a working mermaid fountain was installed on the Boulevard but I haven't been to that see that yet. 

If you're interested in the rebuilding process there's a website here.

Paragon Street, Hull

The domed building in the distance used to be the Dock Offices and is now a maritime museum complete with a mermaid.
I should mention that the swifts are here at last. "They’ve made it again/ Which means the globe’s still working . . ."