Graduation Day

The young woman in the fancy gown was in a bit of a hurry; the graduation ceremony for Hull University was about to begin. Various notables got honorary degrees including Omar (Dr Zhivargo) Sharif, who claimed to have a strange attraction to Hull.  The building in the background is the Ferens Art Gallery .

The Graduation ceremony was held in the City Hall, below, that's the Lord Mayor's limo parked outside the front door.

Good luck to the Class of 2010, with 70 graduates for every job they're going to need it.

Fish and Chips

Bob Carver's  fish and chip restaurant is, depending on your sensibilities, either an institution worthy of national recognition or a public health hazard to be avoided at all costs. The Carver's have been in the frying trade for over a century, with a stall on the open market before moving to this establishment. There's a proper sit-down restaurant upstairs but most customers stand with the pigeons to be served by staff who seemingly have never heard of twentieth century health and safety rules.

Hull has some of the highest levels of obesity in the UK. It would be unfair to put the blame entirely on Carver's shop.

If you're really gripped by all this, (and who isn't ?) you can listen to Bob himself describing his life and times here.

Smile

The UK is the most watched over, snooped on and generally gawped at nation on the planet.

This pub in Cottingham is taking no chances. In Cottingham's shopping area, which is no more than two short streets, I counted at least a dozen CCTV cameras, not including the three you see here. This is by no means rare, there are millions of these spying machines up and down the land.  

Lovey Dovey

Tree Carving

When the Avenues area of Hull was built they were lined with trees which, over the years, grew and grew. Now the soil of Hull is really just glorified play-doh. Big trees and houses built on clay don't mix very well, so the big trees have got to come down and be replaced by less troublesome varieties. Rather than just removing them completely the stumps have been carved into various sculptures.  The local church is called St Cuthbert's  so I guess that explains why we have a Lindisfarne theme.

Boats

A mute swan stands in what appears to be a pile of old boats. This is the moorings at Beverley Beck.

Playtime