On this day ...

"All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs"

                                                                              Enoch Powell on Joseph Chamberlain

Well here's a blast from the past: Enoch Powell opening the then Western General Hospital on this day fifty three years ago. What can I say that hasn't been said about this divisive maverick politician regarded as both a prophet (by those of an anti-EU persuasion) and a racist bigot (by those on the left)? I suppose if, like him, you had set your heart on becoming Viceroy of India no less and the Government of the day then grants  India independence then you've got little left to  hope  for in life other than to become a somewhat eccentric outsider. He was living proof that great intellectual ability, he had a double first in classics and was a professor of ancient Greek at the ripe old age of 25, is no guarantee of being a sensible human being. The quote at the top of this post applied to him with spades.

If you are still here and  wondering where on earth the Western General Hospital is then wonder no more; they changed its name to the grander sounding  Hull Royal Infirmary sometime short time after this stone was laid. That, I guess, is the nature of human affairs.

Broken

Having a grill protecting your window is, as you can see, no real protection at all. This one on Vicar Lane clearly should have had the regulation half inch chip board and mandatory coat of black paint. 

The Weekend in Black and White is still here, why not give it a visit.

Boiler House

This strange looking place is the boiler house of  Hull Royal Infirmary which, as you might expect, needs lots of hot water for heating and cleaning. Nowadays it's powered by gas but when first built, in the early 60's, it ran on coal stored in that massive hopper on the right.

The weekend in black and white is here.

New kid in town

Nature abhorring a vacuum as it does means that the space left by the sad demise of poor Charley earlier this year has been quickly taken over by this smug little thing. We're not going to give him a name and we're not going to get attached; he's somebody else's problem. 

I'm glad that's the neighbour's fence and not mine.

Pictures are by Margot K Juby and while I'm about here's a link to her blog on the innocence of Gilles de Rais.

Oh and finally the year of culture program was announced today but you don't want to know about that.

Tattoo's (sic)

Ah well nobodys perfect.

Hull Arena

The only good use I can think for ice is to chill a strong gin and tonic but it seems there are folk who like to arm their feet with skates and sally forth on ice rinks. This is the place just for those poor souls. I believe there is also a passing interest in playing hockey on a frozen surface and that perversion is also catered for here. Hull Arena was built in the mid-1980's and had an indoor bowling rink at that time but I can find no mention of that now. The place also hosts concerts (apparently there's seating for 3,750) and boxing matches for the sort of people who like to see people hitting each other as well. Such a useful place really; containing all those wonderful odd-ball pursuits in one box as it were and in an out-of-the-way place where little harm can be done to others.

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