Sea at Bridlington

The German Ocean gently laps on Bridlington's blue-flagged North Bay.
Today is the third anniversary of the great deluge that put parts of Hull under several feet of water. If the eco-doomsters are right then, in the future, Hull will be under the sea. So it's not all bad news then.

The fishermen of England go down to the sea in ships

Sometimes in the fog of war regrettable incidents happen that, if they did not involve the loss of life, appear to be farcical and if not utterly ridiculous. Thus, in a dispute between Russia and Japan in October 1904, the Russian Navy fired upon British trawlers in the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea, believing them to be Japanese torpedo boats. The British trawler Crane was sunk and two fishermen from Hull lost their lives. Other boats were also attacked and another fisherman later died of his wounds. Compounding their error, the Russians then started firing on themselves; killing at least one Russian sailor and an Orthodox priest on board a Russian cruiser. The only reason more damage wasn't done is that the Russian Navy couldn't shoot straight.

Unsurprisingly, the British Government took a dim view of all this, especially as Britain was allied to Japan at the time. Compensation, to the tune of £66,000, did manage to calm things.

The statue was unveiled in 1906 and shows the dead fisherman George Smith. The other two dead fishermen were William  Legget and Walter Whelpton. It stands at the junction of Hessle Road and the Boulevard, in the centre of the old fishing district. 

(Unless my memory is playing tricks with me, and it might well be; this statute was another of those that sat upon a public convenience; like Queen Vic and King Billy. The conveniences have now gone and so has just about all the fishing fleet.)

Beverley Minster: compare and contrast

It's not often you get the chance to compare and contrast with these Daily City Photo blogs. Today you can compare the West Wing of Beverley Minster with the fine West Wing of York Minster.
York and Beverley have an ancient history of mercantile competition; the merchants of York eventually set up a small trading post at mouth of the river Hull just to stymie Beverley's trade. That eventually became a bigger place than either York or Beverley. Today York is a World Heritage site and Beverley has a by-pass.

The green, green grass of home

I don't like to keep well trimmed lawns and so forth. I positively dislike pruned hedges. I let things romp and hack back when it gets too much. You may call me lazy and you'd be right.

Memory under threat

Even as  I posted this statue on Thursday I was knew that something was not right. Notice the strange marks on the ground, as if something has been removed. This statue has been castrated. 

But I couldn't find how it used to look anywhere on the web ( try Googling "Mankind under Threat" and see what you find!!!).

Fortunately, a very close friend of mine took a picture (below) of the original in 1986. Now the title "Mankind Under Threat" makes a bit more sense (though not much). The iron bars give it a more menacing air. Why they were removed and who by, I don't know; but my guess is that Hull Council had one of their perennial fits of stupidity and took an angle grinder to them. 

As it stands now, it's more "Mankind don't care at all"; no?

I think they should bring back those prison bars and give this thing some meaning again!

Photo by Margot K. Juby

The statue is the work of Jimmy Boyle, once said  to be the most violent man in Scotland and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. It was gifted to the city by Susan and Alec Horsley who founded Northern Foods which until 2005 had its HQ in Hull but has now shifted to Leeds.

Thank you Margot , I owe you.

Brown Gull

One of the new gang of seaside thugs.

Hassle to Hessle

So, on a whim, to Hessle, to see the shops and take a few piccies of the Humber Bridge. Hopped on the 105 bus to town, just in time to catch the 66 to Hessle. Big mistake. This "bus" was clearly mechanically spavined. Every turn, acceleration; stop, every damned inch of the road seemed to insult it's weakened frame and cause jolts and discomfort to the paying passengers. The roads of Hull are apparently not paved with gold or any other substance but consist of holes with other holes within; designed to catch the wary and unwary alike. The route of this bus is such that it includes as many twists and turns as it is possible to make so that, after 20 minutes, we were actually going past the bus station from whence we had departed. And on and on it went, grinding it's relentless way. Out of town the design of roads is to lay blocks of concrete, say ten yards long; then tarmac over these blocks. At every joint the tarmac wears out leaving a gap that this, seemingly unsprung, cart passed over with a sickening crunch. 

After 45 minutes of this we arrived having gone just over 7 miles at just under 10 mph. I think it may have been quicker to walk.