Nautical Mile Promenade

A stroll along the prom has long been one of the attractions of the seaside and at Bridlington you can stroll for a whole nautical mile. Several small promenades were rejigged and joined together in what is described as "an imaginative stretch of waterfront, which never fails to hold the visitor's interest, and which is by turn exciting, instructive, humorous and good fun, at any time of the year".

Here's one they built earlier.

Accompanying you on your stroll is a running dialogue of phrases from poems, odd thoughts and details of events that happened nearby, shipwrecks and rescues and so on. At a nautical mile in length it's claimed to be the longest piece of writing in the world.

Laugh

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Charlie Chaplin

Life's a beach

In the times of yore, when I was a lad, we went to beach and played about, got wet, didn't drown and went home happy. But lurking behind all the jollity was an hidden need for a sign. How could we go on without the Great Sign? Well here's a classic; a triptych full of dos and donts and totally meaningless icons that need a description to make sense. The right hand sign has description of Bridlington beach which is, ahem, just behind it! I don't know now how we ever managed without them.

Burton Agnes in passing

On the train coming back from Bridlington and going as fast as the push-me-pull-you diesel can go I had very little time to catch this glimpse of Burton Agnes Hall. The estate has been in the hands of the same family since some Norman stole it way back whenever. That's the Tudor gatehouse peeking out of the trees the hall itself is hidden from view. It's a tourist attraction and you can have a family fun day out if that's your poison. Wikipedia has more here. 

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.