Means of escape

The near train will take you to Bridlington; the far train goes to London, the others to all points in between.

Contre-jour

Here's the Myton bridge on a sunny day last week. The bridge can be lifted to allow shipping to pass underneath but that hardly ever happens these days.

We see her sore oppressed

It's difficult to imagine now but Hull was once a centre of Methodism with well over a hundred chapels. This imposing building, the impressively named George Lamb Memorial Chapel on Lambert Street, was put up in 1894 for the Primitive Methodist Connexion [ ? ]. Fashions change and faiths dwindle and so it was that the last service here was on Good Friday 1994. So for eighteen years the congregation has consisted mainly of the feathered brethren. You will no doubt not be surprised to learn that there were plans to convert to flats nor that these plans have come to naught. The planning permission was extended in 2010 but I would advise against holding your breath in anticipation.

The Minerva

In the thirty or so years I've lived in Hull the Minerva has been written off at least half a dozens times. The last time was 3 or 4 years ago when a mock funeral was held to 'celebrate' its 'final' closure. But you can't keep a good pub shut for long and it reopened to all fine ale enthusiasts delight. At one time the pub brewed its own beer but that has now stopped, the sign saying Minerva Brewery is all that remains. The pub is right next to the Marina on the riverside. It has the smallest snug in the land, fits two people!

Opening soon ...

...well May is fairly soon isn't it? This is promised to be a new concept (new to Hull anyway) of  "theatre-style cooking" with chefs cooking meals before a captivated (or captive) audience of diners. With so many eating places struggling I suppose a new gimmick might pull in the punters. This is a refurbishment of an existing restaurant in the Hessle Gate Building on Humber dock. The building was constructed in 1884 hence the name. The obligatory website is here.

So now you know as much as I do

I've passed this thing many times and not been bothered to find out exactly what it was until I took a couple of photos and decided to put an end to my ignorance. I'd guessed it was an engine of some kind, turns out it's a horizontal steam engine and was used to haul ships out of the Victoria Dock for repairs and so on. Somehow it managed to find its way (no doubt under its own steam) to the side of the Humber dock where it's grown a protective glass cover. Clever things these steam engines.

The link (here) tells you as much as you could possibly want to know.

Still building that old bridge

A big step forward in the making of this bridge happened in the last week or so when the 120 ton swinging arm was lifted into place. You can't see much in this foreshortened image so I crossed over the Myton bridge and took a shot from the other side of the river. To me it looks like a giant fish, can't quite see what that fin attachment is supposed to do but no doubt all will be revealed. The local paper confidently states the bridge will open in May so we'll just have to be patient a little longer ....