Last weekend I was on the south bank of the Humber and as I looked across the great estuary I was thinking of all that is good about Hull. I could see the hot July sun shining on The Deep, Holy Trinity church and a parade of tower blocks, the docks and refineries in the distance.



And then I wrote "OK, so Hull is not exactly a city that lines up great achievements, monuments, attractions and cultural diversity." Oops, so I was a little mean about Hull in my last post and if there was ever a place that needs to be a bit more upbeat about itself, to throw a better light on the assets that it does have in order to pull itself up with other great cities of this country, then Hull is it. Grumpy foreigners like me don't really help.


Hull has a wonderfully colourful, eventful history. It has been a hard working city, but has suffered some of the worst bombing any city has ever suffered and is rebuilding itself to this day. Equally, Hull is recovering from the loss of traditional industry like many other places in Britain and possibly struggles because of its' location at the end of a road to nowhere-else' (even if it does have a huge bridge that links it with the vast expanses of Lincolnshire and a port link to the rest of Europe). But although there is a perfectly formed museum quarter, in the cobbled streets of the old town down by our underdeveloped waterfront, where on a fine day it is a pleasant stroll from the historic Olde White Harte pub (where, in 1642, the English Civil War was triggered when Sir John Hotham decided to bar King Charles from entering the town for a pint of Wold Top) to one of the country's most successful millenium celebration projects, The Deep, far too little is actually made of all these attractions.

What we need is an enthusiastic Hull blogger to take on the mantle of a Hull Picture A Day, where we see the beautiful buildings that survived the Luftwaffe and the 1960s, the lively covered market and probably Blueberrys on Trinity House Lane, the finest restaurant for miles, possibly years. There are things to shout about, stories to tell I have no doubt. So I am sorry if I my blog has given the wrong impression, I don't dislike Hull, but I fear that it does that job itself sometimes.

So, perhaps this week will bring more goodness of Hull? While we think about it, how about a friendly beer at The Lamp?