76-78 Lowgate

Just round the corner from yesterday's doorway and within spitting distance of the old Queen's Dock this pair of buildings, now the Lowgate Centre, were built in the late 18th-century as merchants' houses complete with stables and warehouses. The medieval practice of merchants living over the shop, as it were, died out pretty soon after this date which led to the spread of Hull north of the dock into Baker Street, Albion Street and that area. 

Maritime Buildings

Maritime buildings are on Alfred Gelder Street close by the Guildhall and were actually designed by our old friends Gelder & Kitchen in 1900. The doorway is impressive but could do with some tlc and a good coat of paint. A nearby blue plaque informs us that a goodly portion of Finland's huddled masses went through Hull on their way to the land of the free and the home of the whatever ...

Slo-mo demolition

You've seen those demolition videos where a whole block comes down at the push of a button and lies in a neat little heap ready to be swept up and taken away; well this ain't like that at all. The old Clarence Mill is coming down but brick by brick and at this rate we'll still be here by Christmas. Complaints have been received that rubble is falling in the river and causing pollution. This is denied, of course, but the public walkway used to have a safety fence recently erected and that has been crushed by bricks so if some were to have fallen in the river it would hardly be a surprise. There's still a section of wall that runs along a busy road; it'll be fun pulling that down without injury or damage. I've recorded some graffiti for posterity, if you look real close you can see someone (SP) has even tagged the very top of the tower.

A few flags and stuff

A low pressure system over the North Sea was bringing down cloudy Polar Bear breath from Svarlbard or so it seemed on Saturday as I took in a few of the Freedom Festival's goings-on in and around Queen's Gardens. It seemed to involve lots of flags, tying up children in rubber bands (an excellent idea), strange signs, yet more flags and eating cooked pig. The BBC had a big display here as well but you don't want to see that....This is but a mere fraction of the 'attractions' that last for three days (and nights) and take in the old town as well. Just think, in 2017 every day will be a festival day ..... how frabjous!

Afrikan Warriors

So I'm on my way to Tesco when I came across these guys, the Afrikan Warriors if their shirts are not lying, doing acrobatics and strutting their stuff in the middle of Jameson Street. I don't know if they were officially part of the Freedom Festival but who cares, they certainly kept the crowd, particularly the children, entertained.

In the pink

To mark the Hull Freedom Festival  Ye olde black boy  on High Street has been painted pink (temporarily, I hasten to add, it's a listed building and so on and so forth....) Further the question "Does Kolour (sic) Matter?" has been asked. I leave that up to you. I draw your attention to the handsome window boxes, always a  favourite in these parts.

Still life with cone

Church Lane Staithe, Hull

This might have made a contribution to the curiosity theme the other day. It's probably best not to ask too many questions how this installation came together.