Holy Mackerel

It's been a while since I posted anything piscine related to the Hull Fish Trail. To rectify that omission and as it's Friday here's part of a small shoal of mackerel lurking for a passing sprat no doubt. You can find them at the eastern end of Holy Trinity church where Lowgate turns imperceptibly into Market Place. They're carved out of sandstone and have been in the pavement and walked over by the passing throng since 1992 or thereabouts and are getting a bit worn out and easily missed.

The Weekend in Black and White is here.

K is for kippers, of course

Further fishy fun on Posterngate at Number 9, I think.

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.

Monkfish

It's been a while since I mentioned Hull's fish trail so I thought it might be safe to venture back into the water, as it were, that is until I came face to face with this gurning brute. This monkfish was made in 1992 or thereabouts by Gordon Young out of black carboniferous Belgian limestone. I think that's just about all you need to know about it. Oh yeah it's lurking at the end Whitefriargate , you have been warned.

Umber without number

Umbers by the Humber, ah well. This is yet another part of the seemingly endless fish trail that winds round the town and pops up when you least expect it. This is part of a small shoal carved into the planks of Victoria Pier. You may know umbers as grayling, but "grayling by the Humber" doesn't quite do it, does it?

The Weekend in Black & White goes on here.

For those interested in football Hull City lost (2-3)  to Arsenal in the FA Cup yesterday.

Blistering Barnacles!

Another in the long running non-series of fishy footpath plaques [ 1 ]; this one near the Minerva. Devotees of a well known Belgian cartoon character will no doubt recognise the catchphrase and so identify the fish. Others can look up the Latin.

Cod

After yesterday's mammoth posting here's something simpler. Here's another of those piscatorial pavement plaques, this one lies near to the Hull hole at the end of Whitefriargate. 

Yawling, Quid and Blenny

Yawling, quid and blenny are not a firm of solicitors but part of yet another in the seemingly unending series of fishy plaques that lie hidden on Hull's pavements [ 1 ]. This one close by the entrance to the Marina has not one but three fishes on it. Blenny I'd heard off but yawling and quid were new to me. A bit of judicious searching tells me that yawling is a young herring whilst quid is a relative of the salmon. I've also found that there are about forty such plaques awaiting discovery, oh joy ...

Life in a cold climate

This pavement plaque is part of the Seven Seas Fish Pavement that I have mentioned before [ 1 ]. This one is an Icefish something which I'd never heard of. Turns out these creatures have somehow managed to mangle up the gene for haemoglobin production which under normal circumstances would come under the heading of 'not recommended'. However they live as proof that variety is indeed the spice of life. Living in very cold Antarctic waters, where the oxygen levels are higher than in warm water, they hang on in there. They're also translucent as the best picture on Wikipedia clearly shows here. There's an informative article here.

Talking about the struggle for survival, the Seven Seas fish oil factory in Hull has been scheduled for closure. The firm blames the country's economy, personally I blame the fact they didn't employ me when I applied for a job there 25 years ago. Anyhow that's another 250 people who may lose their job as we confidently stride out of recession, or not.

Ray

Funny how things can surround you without them being noticed. Take this pavement art; been sitting on the river front for nearly twenty years but I only noticed it the other day. It's part of a sculpture trail called 'The Seven Seas Fish Pavement' sponsored by a local fish oil processor. You can find more information here and some kind (possibly sad) soul has investigated the geology of the sculptures so for all you rock fans there's a link here.