Tuesday 23 June 2015

Summer meadow in the heart of town


On Blackfriargate a patch of land has been left to sort itself out and that is just what it's doing in a colourful way, of course. This mad mix of poppies, clovers, teasels and grasses is all free and could be available across town and country if councils parked up their grass mowers until Autumn. 

Monday 22 June 2015

Fruits of the forest


According to those that know about these things this yellow fungus is not only edible but quite possibly tastes like chicken. I'll take their word for it. It looks like someone or something has taken a bite out of it already. This is Laetiporus sulphureus or chicken of the woods and this specimen is on that well known forest glade known as Fairfax Avenue.


Sunday 21 June 2015

Tall poppy syndrome


Even in these austere days the Council sees fit to go round with herbicide and clear any green growing thing from the base of every roadside post. Further they go round every fortnight with mowers trimming down all the grassy verges. It something they do because they've always done it, an utterly pointless waste of money. Does long grass threaten civilisation or do flowers portend a revolution? What harm would it do to leave things be and let a billion flowers grow? 

Friday 19 June 2015

Post Office Red


When the grand old central post office up the road was closed a few years ago this less imposing but perhaps more viable post office opened up on Lowgate. Clearly it's had a recent repaint job and is looking all spick and span.

Thursday 18 June 2015

Dead Poets' Corner


I took a few more shots of Larkin's somewhat grotesque statue in Paragon Station the other day with a view to using them at some point in the future. He's always good for a post on a dull day is my view. Well it seems the dull day has arrived rather quicker than I expected as it's been announced that the man who handed on misery to man is to be honoured, if that's the right word, in Westminster Abbey's poets' corner. Would it be going too far to say that the Abbey is jumping on the city of culture bandwagon? Perhaps. The ceremony, on December 2 2016, will take place only days before the start of the Culture fest in 2017. The custom used to be to bury the famous scribes in the Abbey but nowadays they just lay a named floor stone. I'm thinking a pair of entwined bicycle clips or a hedgehog would be a fitting extra decoration anything but toads ....

Wednesday 17 June 2015

Shark infested pavement


Regular readers will be aware of the Hull fish trail. Well here's another one for the collection, a rather sad looking shark, and I think it's the biggest on the trail. It's on Whitefriargate near the ugly brute I posted a while back. This shark is carved from slate and was originally in the middle of Whitefriargate but was damaged by a heavy truck. It's now repaired and out of harm's way, appropriately outside the HSBC building.