Unbelievable

A couple of Hully things cropped up in the news while I was away. First Hull was declared the second worst town in the UK. The source for this sensational news was a survey by some folk calling themselves LadBible ("Redefining Entertainment & News For a Social Generation", no, me neither!) clearly this is nonsense and caused uproar and upset in the City of Culture as a) Hull is not a crap town but a crap city (there's no shortage of parochial pedants in this place) and b) Hull is definitely the worst place in the UK, coming second is not an option.

The second incredible snippet of news was the estimate of 3.5 million people attending events during the Year of Culture. Given that this came from Hull City Council who could hardly be said to be impartial observers let alone capable of counting over twenty, this figure is open to some doubt. Still even if we take this figure and look at the break down for individual events say the fireworks on New Year's Eve, the Blade, the porcelain poppies and a handful of other shows soaked up well over 3 million visitors (allegedly). But, and here is yet another incredible (or amazing as they called everything last year, if it wasn't amazing it was stunning ...) fact, there were 2000 events put on over the year. I kid you not, 2000! So by the figures of Hull City Council the vast majority of these cultural events must have attracted two men and (perhaps) a dog. 

Now I'm a trusting sort of guy and if a statement is made to effect that nearly one million folk visited the Blade in its seventy day stay in Queen Vic Square I'm not going to do some back-of-a-fag-packet calculation that this means 600 per hour visited the colossal thing, 10 a minute or roughly the normal number of folk crossing the square at any one time... Also I passed under it dozens of times and must, I suppose, have been counted dozens of times... But I don't want to start off the new year in this suspicious mood. Hull City Council are fine and trustworthy folk as trusty as this picture of the Rose Bowl Gardens.

It's been yonks ...

... since I posted anything.

The new year sees Hull and all things Hully still much the same. Be assured you haven't missed anything.

Lifeboats and Water Works

A few yards further along from the Spa is this new-to-me lifeboat station which with its white curves and windows pays a passing homage to the art deco-ish Spa. However a few yards further brings us to this piece that seems to be a relic of Rommel's Atlantikwall, I believe it's something to do with the sewage out fall pipe they were putting in a while back. It does make for a fine vantage point if you clamber up the top of it, and from there, of course, you can't see it; so win-win. 

If you're wondering why the RNLI needed a new station it's because the old one (below) was a) not even close to the beach and b) it was across the road and traffic had to be held up and so on whenever there was a call out.

Huis-clos

Festival House

You know how it is: the neighbours have gotten a bit rowdy and done a bit of damage to your neighbourhood but, well, we've all got to get along together somehow ... so some six years after that party that was WW2 Hull gets round to building something permanent; Hull is so chuffed at building something permanent it puts up a plaque and the building is named after that event that forever dooms Britain: the Festival of Britain. OK enough hype; this easily missed building is the first building they built after the war and Jameson Street must have been a much bigger mess than the recent renovations ( "You don't know you've lived", I believe is the expression our parents would fling at us for being born too late to miss all that bomb damage fun. So sorry Adolph I'll catch it on Yesterday +1). May day 1951 must have been some day for Hull, the rebuild begins. There is that saying if at first you don't succeed try again and fail again, fail better; Hull has been doing that for nigh on seventy years.

Shaves and trims

I have to say if it should ever come about that I can't shave myself (not that I ever do)  or trim my own beard (again only rarely) you can take me out and shoot me. I am, perhaps, not the barber's best friend. Anyhoo this cute little sign aimed at a somewhat younger (and richer) clientèle than myself is on the way home from Hull Fair on Chanterlands Avenue.

Sugar and spice and all things nice

Hull Fair has two parts; the big expensive rides and smaller stalls where you can shoot yourself a prize or hook-a-duck and so on these are all congregated off Walton Street. On Walton Street itself there is a long line of stalls selling food, burgers, Indian take-aways, fish and chips and so on are all there for the taking but there also lots of sweet stalls selling what is essentially sugar  in various disguises. For some reason Margot took a lot pictures of these so here's her view.

Margot dared me to post this. If you want to create a space around yourself in a crowd just take out a doll and photograph it; folk steer clear for some reason, can't think why.