The STAND

You can see this is a place to park bicycles, you don't need someone to put silvery studs in the ground spelling out STAND. It seems the Council has gone for the no expense spared, money to burn approach to the installation of street furniture. Oh that thing on the left? It's old sharkey reinstalled (doesn't every bike stand come with a shark these days?) 

Meanwhile at the other end of the street the bike stand has attracted the attention of delivery vans not once but twice. (and I think the woman in that shop window hasn't really got half an upside down corpse ... but you never can tell).

Margot took the the top picture.

Oh! we don't want to lose you but we think you ought to go

The thing that has been littering  Queen Victoria Square for the best part of three months is due to depart next weekend as the year of glorious culture completes its first quarter (how time flies when you're having fun, I mean, culture!). It is due to sneak its way back to east Hull some time on Sunday morning so I doubt I'll be around to see it go nor, to be honest, will I miss it much. This view down Paragon Street shows there's still work ongoing (hate that word) with plenty of our old friendly orange barriers in evidence and the place looking like a bomb has gone off.

Out with the modern in with the old

Parliament Street is one of the last places to get a make over and consequently has those old familiar orange barriers making a maze out of straight line. When I first posted about this street back in 2011 someone commented that the square paving stones made the place look modern I wonder what they'll make of the new look stone blocks. Here's another view of how it used to look.

And while I'm here I may as well add the HSBC bank on the right to the list of empty buildings on Whitefriargate.

To Let: One City of Culture

I read a report in the esteemed local newspaper that, according to the equally esteemed Sunday Times, Hull is to be included for the first time in the "Best Places to Live in the UK" list. Being the ST it is aimed at readers who would not dream of taking the bus (yes a bus dear! you pay a fare and sit with 'other people' and they may even talk to you) to the human battery farms of Orchard Park and Bransholme or the ruins of Preston Road or, God forbid, a leisurely stroll along Beverley Road with its ambience of traffic pollution, cannabis and the glorious delights urban and human decay. No these blinkered snowflakes only appreciate how the tree-lined Avenues have become desirable with lots of eating places and how "everyone in Hull has got involved" (in the C of C, darling, do keep up). It's delusional BS for the aspirant middle classes.

The list is in no particular order of merit and has no fewer than 143 places on it (as the list takes into account "the personal experiences of the authors" I'm thinking that's a hell of a lot of baksheesh!).  I suppose by the same criteria of making a big enough list Abu Ghraib might have been one of the best prisons in the world.

The other day I was accused of moaning (yes, moaning, me!, as if I would!) by some anonymous commentator, may as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.

Going right round the houses

The cars down below were aiming to get on the road up above and had to go the scenic route right through old town; but thanks to these traffic lights they were crawling along at less than walking speed. I hope they enjoyed the culture while they were waiting. This was the scene yesterday and I hear there is another gridlock in town right now but that's just normal for a Friday.

Grainy Day Photos

If these pics of the tidal barrier seem a bit grainy that's because some idiot (that would be me) left the camera at a ridiculous ISO setting of 3200 (don't ask) and didn't realise that, unlike my old camera, it does not go back to auto when turned off.

I think you can just about make the word #city on the tower part of that 'see your words in print' thing that I mentioned yesterday. And as luck would have it a passing tourist asked me all about this so I was able to do an impersonation of a tourist guide. He seemed quite impressed by the place but then he gets to go home in the evening.

Amusing Misuse of Resources

Many lifetimes ago I used to use Linux as my operating system, I vaguely remember concerns about the mighty Microsoft taking over the world and other silly nightmares that were common at the time. Anyhow between figuring out the many and varied scripts that kept the computer swimming and wondering how to get a wifi dongle recognised I was made aware of a program called AMOR. AMOR caused a little figure to appear at the top of a window which would then run along and fall off or it would just wander aimlessly around the screen. Utterly pointless and, of course, AMOR stood for Amusing Misuse of Resources. So what has brought that fascinating snippet of my past to mind? Well here on Humber Street an iron dais has been erected which at night time allows a person to have their spoken words captured by voice recognition software and then projected dot-matrix style on the flood barrier at the other end other street. Here's an example from the local paper. I'm sure it's all very hi-tech and we are told the machine will 'learn' to recognise the Hull accent and, of course, it comes with the usual culture-speak nonsense about changing the way folk see public spaces yada yada yada. But come on now, admit it; it's just a big toy and about as much use a wobbly widget on an X screen. 

Oh and as for the Linux thing forget it, I learned to love Microsoft's Windows XP and no, I will not upgrade, never, not ever, do you hear me?