Surplus to Requirements

The natives are getting restless in deepest, darkest Cottingham. The local council, not Hull, for once, but the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, hereinafter known as ERYC, has decided that the Civic Hall in Cottingham is "surplus to requirements" and want to sell it off to whoever. That phrase 'surplus to requirements' clearly came from a soulless, heartless accountant and not something with a brain between its ears. Needless to say this has not gone down well with all the hundreds of people who use it for exercise groups, plays, community activities of all descriptions; real people to whom it is essential.  So plans are afoot to take over the place locally with a trust to manage the running of the place. Hopefully ERYC will see sense  and stop acting like ideological ass holes and remember there are elections coming up sooner or later when perhaps they'll find that they, too,  have become surplus to requirements.

The Erstwhile Bank

In what estate agents might call a prime location on the junction of Hallgate and King Street here is the building formerly known as HSBC. If this does not become a trendy wine bar and/or  restaurant in the next few months I'll be very surprised. It seems the big boys are closing branches up and down the country. HSBC are closing two branches in town including the Whitefriargate one. While Cottingham still has three other banks that folks can use some villages and even small towns have no banks at all which I imagine is a right pain if you're a pensioner with limited mobility and no understanding the web or if you're trying to run a shop and run out of change. 

The Quality Street Lights

So here's some old flats on Porter Street all lit up as an arts project called "I Wish To Communicate With You" for some reason that escapes me. Puts me in mind of those coloured cellophane wrappers that came (probably still do for all I know) with Quality Street chocolates. Obviously it's all to do with that damn culture thing. The pictures I've seen of it, including this one, really don't do it any justice, it's much more impressive in real life, though hardly a stunningly original piece.

The Ideal

This place on Midland Street seems to be hanging on despite the demolition of the nearby Albert Hall. It's both a driving school and a printers, odd combination but that's how it is.

The Terrace

Or rather the back of the terrace. This is the derrière of Albion Street and is posted here to give a fuller, all round picture, wouldn't want to be accused of frontistic tendencies ...

The weekend in black and white is here.

The Vacuous Nonsense

As part of the cultural bonanza currently being spread like field manure, hither and yon, several advertising hoardings around town are to be taken over for what is termed Art. Now I know art is not meant to mean anything so this is clearly qualifies as art, a house, a car like thing and Rudolph the reindeer suddenly discovering who has been sworn in as 45th president of the US of A. A whole year of this fap crap, oh how wonderful!

The E.U International

Hard boiled Brexit or the soft runny kind may affect these little supermarkets selling delicacies from the Baltic and other exotic places but I rather think they'll still be here long after we've all forgotten about the EU, Mrs Merkel (Wer sie?) and the single market or whatever. The current stupid little falling out is a mere blip, a historical hiccup. It'll all blow over and the dust will settle and we'll say what was all the fuss about. What kind of madness was that? We''ll get back to doing what we've been doing for two thousand years or more, trading goods and carrying people across the North Sea and the Channel, to and from Europe and beyond. What else can we or Europe do?