Wooden figures

I feel that if a piece of art requires a lengthy explanation of what the artist is trying to convey then somehow it's a large bit of a failure. And so I turn to this, a grouping  called Odyssey which is part of the University's Polish season. They're colourful and at 2.5m they're tall and monumental, they're crudely carved and there's 40 of them; but what's it all about? Hmm? Can you tell just by looking?

Well there's a large sign accompanying this 'work' which tells all and which I did photograph but which I'm not posting  because I'm wondering if anyone looking at this could possibly guess what the artist is doing here.

If you give up the artist's website has information on what his intentions were ..... Of course it was a visual arts prizewinner at the Brighton Festival in 2006.

Park bridge

After yesterday's colourful display here's the East Park bridge which I've shown several times before but never in black and white.

See the Weekend in Black & White here.

Star Gardens

East Park's floral displays in the Star Gardens are at their peak right now with hosts of dahlias and gladioli making a spectacular show.

Not forgetting the ornamental grasses.

This Sporting Life

If you believe the local media Hull is a sports mad city with passions running high between supporters of the various football and rugby clubs. The montage above showing sporting 'heroes' of the past is on the wall of the New Clarence which boasts that it is "Hull’s premier bar when it comes to live sports entertainment". Apparently you can catch all the action "with your choice of 8 foot digital screen, plasma and LCD TVs". It's on the corner of John Street and Charles Street if you want to go or if you wish to avoid.

This photograph courtesy of John Wyles shows the original Clarence which stood on the corner opposite the present pub and which was demolished in the 1980s. It was a quiet old fashioned place where the biggest excitement was a game of dominoes and there was no telly ...

Building schools for the future

Hull's Trinity House school is moving out of these old buildings on Princes Dock Street into  new buildings on the former University of Lincoln site. The school is also doubling in size to 600 pupils. This is all part of a concerted effort by local and central government to improve the school buildings in Hull. Hundreds of millions are being spent on the largest regeneration project in Hull and nineteen "new, world-class schools" should open by the end of 2014. All this is very laudable but if a similar investment isn't made on the teaching side Hull's unenviable record of poor educational performance will continue.

Old news and a pink bicycle

Taken by Margot K Juby

Another woeful story of lack of safety in the workplace. This involves a worker inside a pressing machine that was turned on with disastrous consequences. The picture was taken in April and though the matter has gone to Court and the company admits breaches of Health and Safety it does not accept the full extent of its culpability. It has now been passed to a higher Court and will not be heard until next year. Meanwhile the Government wants to reduce the number of health and safety inspections to boost growth (for undertakers, I'm thinking) ...

Meat, Veg and Elvis

This is the indoor market and as you can see it's not exactly crowded. The Trinity Market, to give it its formal name, was opened in 1904 and sells a range of stuff from meat and vegetables to clothing, books to tropical fish and records to musical instruments. Competition from the large shopping malls has dramatically reduced the trade in the market so much so that half of it has been converted into a wine bar. Nevertheless it's still worth visiting for value for money.
I think the flags are something to do with this country having had sixty years of the same unelected head of state or maybe it's an outbreak of contagious patriotism. Who knows what goes on in the minds of flag wavers?

Elvis apparently has not left the building.