A slight change of use

These Victorian offices on Union Street/Albion Street used to be the School Board's Offices but now thanks to the passage of time, progress and what have you this is now a supermarket, in fact it's a Chinese supermarket, Chong Wah, selling all sorts of goodies. It's comes as no surprise to know that back in the day (1898) the Victorians weren't averse to wasting some of the education budget on fancy decoration such as this elaborate window frame. It's a Grade 2 listed property as you might expect.

John Alderson MD

Outside Hull Royal Infirmary on its ashlar pedestal stands this statue of John Alderson MD. And why would such a thing be here I ask myself and after a few minutes on the good ship Google I find that the said Mr Alderson was a very successful physician in Hull in the late 18th and early 19th century indeed he did so well out of his practice that when he was elected Chief Physician at the newly opened Hull Royal Infirmary he gave his services for free. He vaccinated many of poor people of Hull. But that alone wouldn't get a statue. Oh no there's more, much more. He was consultant physician for the Hull Lying-in Charity which provided linen and food for poor reputable married women during pregnancy.  In 1814 he set up a refuge for the insane where it was said “every attempt consistent with humanity will be made to restore the patient”. And then he worked towards the provision of education, was president of the subscription library and the Literary and Philosophical Society. Feeling at a lose end he set up the Hull Mechanics' Institute in 1825. During all this he gave many lectures and wrote several publications. Finally he started the Hull School of Medicine in Kingston Square but died before that was completed. I suppose there's a limit to what one man can do in a lifetime. It is said the fifteen thousand people lined the streets of Hull for his funeral in 1829 ... 

This statue was paid for by public subscription and stood originally outside the Hull Royal Infirmary on Prospect Street before being moved to the Anlaby Road site. Until the smoking ban was enforced more rigorously on the hospital site tobacco fiends (many were patients in pyjamas and dressing gowns with accompanying drip stands, oh it was such a fine sight to see!) would gather around this statue and offer their smoky votive offerings to this remarkable man. At least I'd like to think they did, but most probably they (like me) hadn't the slightest idea who he was.

The Ice House or what's left ...

This is all that remains of the Salvation Army Citadel on Anlaby Road, a crumbling door step. It stood next to the ill famed New York Hotel and was known universally as the Ice House because they had stored ice in it before fridges and what have you. I remember it as a Sally Army charity shop in the mid 1980's and that moved elsewhere in 1989 and demolition quickly followed but not until the obligatory arson attack. (Hull's motto: "Burn in haste, bulldoze at leisure!") The only reasonably good picture I can find of how looked is here though I'm sure there must be many others around. It was registered as a mission hall in 1883 and had seating for 2,500! (Those were the days). During WW2 it became a part-time synagogue for Hull's Old Hebrew Congregation as their place had been bombed as was the custom in those days. The new place is much smaller but the road on which it stands was renamed Ice House Road just to keep the memory going.

Moorhens on Barmy Drain

I post this because it's the first time I've managed to get a moorhen in focus in years of trying.  These birds are fairly common, not particularly shy and hardly quick moving; don't quite know what my problem was ... So, anyway, this little group were on Barmston Drain and I'm pretty sure this is a second brood of the year as another much bigger juvenile was hanging around.

Wellington Street Bridge

This little swing bridge allows you to nip across the entrance to the marina without having to go over the dock gates. For some reason, probably economic, it is often closed (that is open for boats but closed for foot soldiers, you understand) but I guess with the thousands attending the Humber Street Sesh cacophothon on Saturday it was deemed safer to allows folk to cross this way. (But this photo shows I was wrong to think so; this event seals off public streets and charges people to exercise the freedom to pass along the highway. It is in plain words highway robbery! with noise!)
The bridge would have had rail tracks on it originally as part of the Humber Dock rail system. 

There, now you've seen it from both sides, aren't you lucky!.

A different point of view

... sometimes I take a great notion
to jump in the river and drown.

So yes, it's that man again, the statue known for no discernible reason, as Voyage. This thing always puts that old Leadbelly song in my head for some reason but that's just me I guess.

Ice Cream Days

Final stages

Back in February I posted about the construction, in the old dry dock, of a stage for open air performances. Well here it is in all its wooden glory ready for its debut on Saturday with the annual Humber Street Sesh. Looks pretty good to this pilgrim through this barren land. Another welcome development is the opening of a small footbridge (from which the above shot was taken) allowing public access to the stage and buildings. The stage is built from larch so it should weather down to a silvery grey in due time complementing the grey bricks hopefully.

And finally for the truly OCD amongst you; the ancient graffiti Daze is still there though somewhat faded by the passing years, well, aren't we all?

Getting there

I haven't been in this area for a while so it was a pleasant surprise to find that the second set of buildings in this complex by the old dry dock are very nearly completed. If I remember the plans rightly there's another set of buildings to come along the road. It's all looking rather nice I think. Here's how it looked last time.

There's joy in repetition

City Daily Photo's start of the month theme is "My City's Skyline". I've done several skyline shots over the years and after looking through my extensive collection I still think this one is the best I've taken. Only thing is I posted it about six years ago, ah but you won't remember that now, will you?

Bucket List

A charity shop in town had this on its wall ... I love the slide from slappy-happy into despond.

Margot took this as I was suffering from acute cannot-be-arsedness.

Well you don't come across a bucket list like this at all in your life and suddenly another one springs up. I found this story in the local rag just after I posted the above.

More of this please

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that there's a celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Amy Johnson's death during WW2. Well to go with the fibre glass moths someone has actually come up with the bright idea of installing some seats and plants around the Amy Johnson statue on Prospect Street. The overnight improvement of this rather drab area is a most welcome addition. Local shops are reporting an increase in trade, people are sitting having a bit of lunch in the welcome shade ... makes you wonder why the original seats were removed years ago.

Too slow

If you want that slice of tomato off the pavement don't dawdle or big brother will pinch it from under your beak and leave you chasing shadows. Two young crows were being a bit bold on Holderness Road the other day, even trying their luck on some café tables.

Sign of things to come

I'm sure there will be much worse things than this pathetic pun as the detestable City of Culture waddles into town with its own sense of self importance. ("If I don't like it why don't I go somewhere else?" What? And miss all the crap?) Meanwhile you'll be aware of the need to fix the crappy big road that runs through this dump; the date for that has been put back yet again ... 'til 2022. Now I'll give them credit for saying that date will not be coming forward but might (ie definitely will ) go backward even further. Still we have culture (it may be a crap culture but it's Hull's very own crap culture, so we're told), a new Government (it may be a crap government but it's our very own crap Government, so we're told), a way out of Europe's crappy clutches (ha ha ha watch this space, this may be the funniest thing yet ) and we should be grateful for small mercies ... yes I'm having a crappy day.

The Lighted Doorway

I took this back in December and somehow forgot about it. This is the Venn building at the University, in daylight it looks like this.

Without Compromise

 

I'm not so sure I entirely fancy the idea of a retirement without compromise ...

This is what is being built with the big crane I showed the other day.

The Real Sea of Hull

It's been estimated that over 63,400 tonnes of sediment are deposited in the Humber every year. These range from gravels and sand through to fine clays and it these clays that give the Humber its characteristic brown soup appearance. Now a talentless American attention seeking photographer, on a commission from the fools and knaves who run the Ferens, wanted people to strip naked, be painted as the colours of the sea and spread themselves on the streets of the town. I suppose a wall of shitty brown humanity pouring down Alfred Gelder Street would have been such a drag and something of a public relations disaster. No wonder then that green-blue was the chosen colour. But when the North Sea eventually does flow down the streets of Hull (as it will, again) I doubt it will be turquoise or stop to pose for photographs.  'Humankind cannot bear very much reality' as someone other American once said.

Boys with the blackstuff

Carr Lane on Thursday was an unusual hive of activity as the rush was on to reopen it for Monday. Lorries of tarmac were queuing up and this guy was having fun dumping the old blackstuff on the newly repaired surface while another flattened it with a roller. The road has been completely closed since March and everyone will be glad to see it reopen, yes even me.

Erm ....

More Amy Johnson nonsense in Zebedee's Yard.  Clearly I'm not qualified to pass a judgement on this fine and colourful piece; not qualified at all ... but just one teensy weensy question; why is there a CND symbol lurking in the background?

A whisper of moths

These decorative blobs that have alighted all over town and elsewhere are supposed to be moths. Yeah, I know, you'd never have guessed. Anyhow it's from the same deep pool of idiocy that brought us fibre glass toads to celebrate the death of Philip Larkin; this time the death being celebrated is Amy Johnson's untimely demise in WW2 seventy-five years ago. Nearly sixty of these damn things have been dotted around the place. I've spotted about half a dozen so far and I can assure you I'm not going hunting for the rest. Why moths do I hear you ask? (are you still there?) Well she flew a Gypsy Moth plane, geddit? I know; stooopid. If you're remotely interested in fibre glass lepidoptery there's a gallery of mothy stuff here.

Le football

There's some sort of football championship going on in France this Summer. The England team, joining in with this year's general 'stuff Europe' theme, decided to leave early by losing to that great footballing nation Iceland. So now those who follow the ball kicking game in this part of  the world have all become Welsh. As I write they are playing Portugal, I'm told. It's sad but inevitable that if they lose they'll be that plucky Welsh side but if they win they'll be that great British side. As it is I find football slightly less boring than a seven year old report into the Iraq war. Dewch ymlaen Cymru! as they say down Hessle Road.

Cottingham Day again and again

As ever on Cott Day there's the usual device for hanging children, with a nearby climbing frame so they can fall to their early demise with attendant queues of parents eager to dispose of unwanted offspring.

 

There's the vintage cars lining Hallgate

and people taking pictures of vintage cars on Hallgate.

There's the display of birds of prey who really should be in shade but are left to pant in clear distress in the warm sunshine while crowds ogle them and have their pictures taken holding them.

There's wannabe singers, of course, where would we be without them?

And people taking pictures of wannabe singers ...

There's the large stage with a pretty awful singer who...

...is ignored by a less than appreciative audience;

And there's always a display of vintage motorbikes but by this time they'd had enough and were off home. Just like me. See you next year, same time, same place, same whatever...

Meanwhile ...

... the world keeps on twirling, the birds are still singing and the roses still blooming.

Today is the annual Cottingham Day to which I shall no doubt go if I can dodge the heavy showers with the hint of thunder. This is, of course, high Summer in this green and pleasant land and we expect no better.

Don't look down

So we're waiting on a bus on Spring Bank and Margot starts taking pictures of the trash that abounds in those parts. "What do you want to do that for?" says I. "No reason," says herself "but I bet it ends up in your blog one day"  ... Hmmm

The uplifting theme for the start of July is 'Look Down'.

The Truth is out there

They are building something on Newgate Street in Cottingham (a residential care home I'm told but I don't really care). Naturally they need a crane, a really big crane. 

As it's a tall thing it has a red light on top to warn passing aircraft I suppose. After a while this is spotted by someone (who may or may not have under the influence of the demon drink) in Hull a mile or so away and reported in the paper as a UFO... but, but, but he sputters it's not just one light there's another in the east, yup, that'll be the cranes at the University . It's sobering to think that the fate of nations is in the hands of people who cannot tell a crane from a flying saucer.