Watching over us

Taken by Margot K Juby

The buses in Hull are often late due to the heavy traffic and terrible roads so there's often time to look around and notice out of the corner of your eye someone who has obviously been waiting far too long.

Ye Olde Black Boy

Ye Olde Black Boy on the High Street claims to be Hull's oldest pub being built in 1729 though the site is much older dating back to the 14^th century. Several theories about the meaning of the name have been put forward: a chimney sweep, a black page boy, even a reference to King Charles II who reputedly was swarthy in appearance! There was a  fashion in the 18^th century for black servants, they were slaves in all but name however remember no-one could be a slave in England dontcha know, see here. There is some irony in the fact that this was probably William Wilberforce's local  as his house is at the other end of the street. That's if he ever drank, he strikes me as having been a lot of a prig with his Society for the Suppression of Vice and other 'good works', his son was known as 'Soapy Sam' infamous for his opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and his grandsons were leading lights in the Church of England Temperance Society! They would have abolished not just slavery but all the agreeable vices that make life just about bearable. But I digress. I don't know why the chap in the sign is carrying a cricket bat and an axe perhaps he's looking for a temperance man ...

Unsurprisingly the pub's history is available online here.

Downpour

Waiting for the bus at Cottingham Green a few days ago it grew dark and began to spit on with rain which gradually got heavier and heavier till, well we've all been there; down it all came seemingly in one big dollop. Still I was under some cover and stayed dry and the bus was due in three minutes. Time for some photos.

It's due to pigeons that alight ...

This monument to Queen Victoria and the British Empire is acquiring some well deserved natural whitewash.

See more of the Weekend in Black and White here.

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

Remember, remember the fifth of November or failing that the nearest Saturday night before. The traditions associated with Guy Fawkes Night seem to be disappearing fast. No longer do you see youngsters wheeling a Guy around asking "Penny for the guy"; the month leading up to it is now as quiet as any other when once it was thirty nights of bangers and rockets. It's part a fashion thing; who wants to buy six penny bangers when you can have a 4000 shot Hell Messenger or a Zombie Slayer? And then there's the heavy handed killjoys of the previous administration who banned the sale of fireworks until just before the event and prohibited letting off fireworks in the street .... anyway don't forget to raise a toast to Guy Fawkes the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions.

Sine Qua Non

So here we are up close and personal with the indispensable tidal surge barrier. Since it was built in 1980 it has saved the city from flooding thirty times, roughly once a year. It was refurbished at a cost of  £10 million a couple of years back, but that's money well spent considering that a year ago it stopped a 16ft high tide from engulfing the city centre. So a big hat tip the engineers who designed and built this 98ft, 212tonne beauty.

The Water's Edge

Bridlington's south shore at low tide is a good place to spot some wading birds.

This month's theme is 'the water's edge'. Find what others have made of this at the new CDPB monthly theme page here.