Pearson Park, Hull

 

 There's a vogue nowadays for philanthropic intervention in public affairs. This is not a new thing, in 1860 Zacchariah Charles Pearson donated a few acres of land in west Hull for a public park. Good for him you say; well up to a point. You see he kept a ring of land surrounding the park for his own speculative building venture and got the people of Hull to pay for a park in the middle. His business and political acumen left him when he led a doomed venture trying to run guns and ammunition to the Confederacy in the US civil war; he lost everything and ended his days practically penniless in a house on Pearson Park. I have a vague memory of some Confederate followers tracing down his grave in Springbank cemetery and renovating it, but that may just be my mind going.

The top picture shows the lake and a Victorian hothouse/conservatory which has a few fishes in tanks and some birds in cages. The colourful blob on the right is, I'm afraid, yet another toad. Below is a detail of the obelisk memorial to old Zacc.

 

Pigeon Post

 

Behold the fastest way of transferring data in East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire. In a stunt designed to point out the slow speed of rural broadband a race was held to send a video file from Beverley to Lincolnshire using Youtube and a pigeon. Needless to say the bird won. Read about it here.

I read today that some ridiculous religious twit had the temerity to label England a third world country, what could he possibly mean?   Also I've just heard that the head honcho of  this same cult claims atheists are Nazis. So now I'm a Nazi atheist living in a third world country. Could be worse I suppose....

The Mash"

 

This is the former Hull Brewery building now taken over by a company that provides "a full suite of Debt Management Services ranging from complete outsource solutions to collections, recoveries and trace". I won't tell you their name; they haven't paid me. 

Some Seaside Amusements

This little den of iniquity goes by the name of Taylor Made Amusements, I kid you not.

The end of season means no customers for the dodgems. 

The Twister tries to put your breakfast in the North Sea

This train takes lazy passengers along the sea front; it's so much better to walk. 

Gone Fishing

 

Humber Bridge

This is the north tower; it's a mere 510 feet tall. For people who admire engineering there's a wealth of truly fascinating detail here.

Humber Bridge

 

 

You can walk or ride a bicycle across this wonderful bridge at no charge. It will cost you £2.70 to take a car across. I don't drive so I wouldn't know how far you would get with £2.70 worth of petrol but I'd guess it's nowhere near the 40 or so miles you'd have to drive if the bridge wasn't there. Lorries and buses pay even more. The whole toll issue is local hot political issue and many promises were made before the last election which have yet to come to pass. It's plain that abolishing the tolls would increase traffic and economic activity; on the other hand the Government would be writing off over £300 million, I can't see the present regime doing that. The loan was apparently underwritten by Hull City Council so council taxpayers in that city could ultimately have to foot the bill if the Bridge Board defaults on its repayments.