Taking liberties

So I go to see that old tree as I always do when I'm around the Westwood and I found it surrounded by cars. There's usually a couple of cars parked here, people visiting the place and that's no problem but the other day I counted sixty or so cars on this stretch and I doubt there were sixteen people on the Westwood that afternoon. Clearly the place has become a 'free' car park for people working in the town. I could see there's damage to the road edge and footpath so this is going to cause trouble sooner or later. I read somewhere that cars spend over 90% of the time parked up and I guess they have to go somewhere but on the local beauty spot? Surely not. 

The Weekend in Black and White is here.

"When gorse is out of bloom kissing's out of fashion"

Took myself off to Beverley Westwood and had the place practically to myself, just an occasional dog walker, an errant golf player or two, a few crows, oh and a couple of skylarks to lighten the spirits. There were banks of wood anemones and this large gorse bush blooming away which was just as well if that old saying has any truth to it.

Winding your way down on Baker Street

At the end of the 18^th century Hull was, to use a recent newspaper headline, "one of the UK's fastest emerging cities". A savvy local tobacco merchant, Richard Baker, bought up land to the north of the new dock and two new streets were built Albion Street and Baker Street. The eastern end of Baker Street is now in a pretty poor state and due for demolition and the erection of apartments to join up with a particularly bland block of living units (but don't hold your breath). The other end is in a much better state and being looked after. There used to be a public convenience at the western end but though the building is still standing it is permanently closed; if you want to pee in the city of culture you must seek relief elsewhere.

In case you were wondering

I think this sign means keep out ...

... it's also the sign I ignored to take the day before yesterday's picture. How does that old song go? ... ah yes:

"As I went walking I saw a sign there 

And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." 

But on the other side it didn't say nothing, 

That side was made for you and me."

The precious patch of land protected by this fine sign is Alexandria Wharf off High Street near, in fact behind, Blaydes House. It's just a patch of cleared land, (once a riverside warehouse, I believe, that burned down some time back, it wasn't me, guv, honest) in the centre of the city so unsurprisingly it's up for sale with permission to build 33 apartments. Just as well I nipped in before the builders took over; Hull is just a frenzy of building activity at the moment. OK that last part of that sentence may not be exactly true.

Open Season

Seen here reflected in the Transport Museum's window the Arctic Corsair, Hull’s last sidewinder trawler, is open to visitors from today. The museum runs guided tours round so if you're interested it's probably best to book a tour (here), also with the present parlous state of the Council's finances who knows how long this feature will be available. Did I mention it was free? Yeah, I know, why don't they charge?

The weekend reflections are here.

Shotwell Tower

Close by Drypool Bridge this place produces shotgun cartridges for the entertaining business of slaughtering birds specially reared to be 'sport' for gun toters with rather too much money than sense. The tower is so that molten lead can be sprayed into water from a height so producing lead pellets to further pollute the land. Do I seem a tad down on this place? Well tough.

The Weekend in Black and White is right .here