Umber without number

Umbers by the Humber, ah well. This is yet another part of the seemingly endless fish trail that winds round the town and pops up when you least expect it. This is part of a small shoal carved into the planks of Victoria Pier. You may know umbers as grayling, but "grayling by the Humber" doesn't quite do it, does it?

The Weekend in Black & White goes on here.

For those interested in football Hull City lost (2-3)  to Arsenal in the FA Cup yesterday.

"Shocked to see the state of the city of Hull ..."

I've posted before about the old fruit market area around Humber Street. Nearby there's a place called Hull Art Lab which was once a potato merchant's building. Usually it's locked up but the other day the doors were open ( I suspect malfeasance). So I peeped through the gap to see what's what. Basically it's empty, as in deserted , with just these scribblings decorating the place. The writing on the floor "I was even more shocked to see the state of Hull, fires were burning everywhere" is, believe it or not, a quote from some testimony given to the BBC's WW2 People's War archive! 

I've just found out it's been closed since November 2006 and presumably standing empty for eight years. Anyhow the place is now open to the elements and naughty folks so I don't know what will become of it.

Postscript: I am reliably informed that this building, or rather the space it occupies, will be part of the centre for innovative digital companies (C4DI) that I mentioned last October (here).

Final countdown

I thought there would have been more of this football related nonsense about town given that the local club have reached the FA cup final for the first time. There are surprisingly few displays of flags and so on. Anyhow there were two or three touts trying their luck in town yesterday with very few takers. They've got scarves, tee shirts and flags, however, the truly dedicated aficionado can buy a toilet seat decorated in team colors with the face of the manager on the lid, I kid you not. I hear you ask who are the opposition in this contest? Some small time club by the name of Arsenal. Kickoff's 5pm tomorrow,  it'll be a walkover ...

Fish Gate

This piscatorial portal is to be found on Fish Street, of course.

Elephant & Castle

The Elephant and Castle on Holderness Road seems to have been for sale for years now. Anyhow it's boarded up, buddleia has taken over the window box and the paint is peeling off. Mind you it's not alone, there's many an empty boarded up shop on this stretch. I note the price has been reduced, even so, I doubt it'll be selling pints any time soon. The vogue nowadays seems to be to convert these sort of buildings into flats.

Stuart's Clock

Here's the brand new park clock in East Park. The money needed to erect it, some £20,000, was raised by one of the parks longest serving rangers, Stuart McDonald. It took him four years to raise the money by organizing games for the children who visited the park, Crazy golf, Tombolas, collections and Xmas events. Others have noticed there is no plaque to tell of his hard work and have suggested it be known as Stuart's Clock, a suggestion I'm all too happy to go along with. Well done to him and all who helped.

Westwood Road

I mentioned in passing many months ago that Westwood Road, Beverley had the most expensive houses in this area. Personally I can't see the attraction of these Victorian terraced mansions nor even the grand villas opposite (that's not to say I wouldn't take one if offered). I suppose once you've made your pile you must find a suitable place to flaunt it.