Madder

OK I admit it's slightly perverse to post a monochrome picture of a plant that produces a deep red colouring for the dyers of this world. This is yet another part of Beverley's history trail (it's difficult to avoid) and it's on, appropriately, Dyer Lane. From what I've read it's the roots that are used and hard water, rich in calcium carbonate, produces the best results. Well, Beverley and all the East Riding sits on a chalky bedrock, so that really must have helped those medieval dyers.

The weekend in black and white is here.

One side of Beverley Beck

Been a while since I've had a walk by Beverley beck. Hasn't changed much.

My plan to cross over at this bridge and come back on the other side was thwarted by Balfour Beatty's  security fencing, something to do with repairs to the bridge.

More weekend reflections here.

The Creeler

Part of Beverley's history trail this bronze statue of a creeler is at the top end of the beck. Creeler is an old local term for someone who, in medieval times, did the hard work of shifting cargo to and from boats and without which the merchants of Beverley would have been up the beck without a paddle. This was sculpted by Chris Wormald and unveiled in 2010.

Can we have our bees back, please?

Someone armed with a stencil and a can of yellow paint is decorating the neighbourhood with these bees which is all well and good except there seems to more of these than the real buzzing little critters. OK maybe I exaggerate but I'm seeing far fewer than in past years. Anyhow there's a survey going on over at the Great British Bee Count to find out what's going on. Right I'll buzz off and leave you with that...

The White House

It's coming to something when a conversion of a pair of old railway cottages to a taxi office is looked on as some sort of 'good' thing. This newly painted up pair were destined to be converted into yet another restaurant to go along with the dozen or so others on Princes Avenue. A steel and glass extension was to have been clagged onto the side to "combine the best features of the period dwellings with high quality, sustainable design" (judge for yourself  here). The owners now feel there is "an over-provision of restaurants in the area" oh really? Surely not ...

Silly Cow

On Princes Avenue

Probably best to say as little as possible about this ...

Unfortunate

For twenty years or so (1840-1860) Hull had a zoo and in that zoo for a few weeks in 1860 there was a White Nile hippopotamus by the name of Bucheet, the first hippo in England outside of London. Now Bucheet means 'fortunate' in Arabic but I reckon this poor chap's life was far from that, being captured as a calf, transported in poor conditions half way round the world, exhibited in zoos in England before being shipped off to America and ending his days in Canada as a circus show piece, "G. C. Quick's Colossal Hippopotamus."! Even after death he was stuffed and exhibited. What we have here at the end of Albany Street is a marble statue of poor old Bucheet. It's part of a small zoological trail in the neighbourhood, there are bears at the other end of the street.

If hippos are your thing then Virtual Hippo World might be of interest to you.