Liverpool was the
European City of Culture in 2008 and, following the significant social and
economic benefits for the area, the Government decided to institute a UK City
of Culture Programme. (Just as well as
we seem to be destined to depart the European Union so this is our only shot.)
The choice of Hull
for 2017 was unanimous because it apparently put forward "the most
compelling case based on its theme as 'a city coming out of the shadows'".
We spent a couple of days there with friends and I can
recommend it. We had a great time but
having never been to Hull before I can’t comment on the changes, which
apparently are significant. Very importantly it is mostly walkable but if you
don’t feel like walking between attractions you can take the Hull Land Train. For £2.50 it
will take you between attractions, you can get off and on again with cheesy
music and hilarious patter. I am not sure how understandable it is if English
isn’t your first language but the Japanese students seemed to be having a whale
of a time. Not sure they were as pleased
with our sing-a-long though.
We loved the exhibitions at the Ferens Gallery including the
blue nudes by Spencer Tunick – “Sea of Hull”, where he photographed over 3,000
naked people painted blue in various places in Hull – you can visit the
settings for the photographs (minus the nudes). The Turner Prize will be held
there this year.
The Maritime Museum was fascinating as was the Streetlife Museum
of transport and we spent some time in the house of William Wilberforce with an
exhibition about the slave trade and his part in its abolition. Much to my surprise I also loved the aquarium
The Deep.
Here are some random things that I didn’t know
Hull was the most bombed city
after London during WW2 – the bombers dropped any excess bombs they had on the
way home to lighten the load. Over 90%
of homes were affected
Amy Johnson the famous aviator
came from Hull
Over 2.2 million emigrants from
Northern Europe passed through Hull from the middle of the 18th
century to about 1914, en route to the USA, Canada and South Africa.
It built all its wealth on
whaling, then fishing (with a dreadful human toll – it was very dangerous). Now
it has modernised and is the UK's first fully-enclosed cargo-handling facility
providing all-weather working for various types of weather-sensitive cargoes
including steel and bagged products. It handles 10 million tonnes a year.
Go by rail, in London from Kings
Cross, and you have to travel on Hull Trains.
It was voted Rail Operator of the Year for good reason – clean,
comfortable, the best loo's ever seen on a train and brilliant staff and unlike
the rest of the industry they have 50:50 gender parity. Read Hull
Trains flying the flag for females!
Our crew were efficient (female) and hilarious. The train was delayed for a few minutes at
Doncaster and they apologised for the delay as an unruly passenger had to be
removed. We saw him speaking to a policeman. I commented to the crew member
that they didn’t seem to have any trouble with him – she said “I’ve got a five year old
– it was a piece of cake!”
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