retiredmartin

Day 2 of 3 in East Yorkshire and Lincs. Time for some “culture” *, if a Chinese takeaway and a pint of Plum Porter isn’t cultural enough.

I started by the River Hull at the Council buildings, for some reason. Perhaps I’d intended walking up Wincolmlee to see if the Whalebone was open at 10 or something.

My day gets off to a great start as two local drama students put on an impromptu art piece called “Have a big screaming match in front of strangers and then make up by going to Maccy D’s for breakfast“.

The view from the footbridge over the Hull cannot be described as one of the world’s greatest, but I’m a fan of mud, particularly their 1974 bestseller and anthem for the local soccer team.

The remodelled Drypool Bridge, modelled on Venn, is a classic piece of modern art.

Alfred Gelder Street contains a good mix of pubs and civic architecture, some of which would stand out more in a City less endowed with history.

Then, finally, a first trip to the Ferens Art Gallery.  Closed for a spell before the Year of Culture and seemingly always shut on my earlier trips, this had been high on my Bucket List, just above the visit to the Dolphin on Spurn.

It’s an accessible museum, rather like Manchester’s own Art Gallery.  Pride of place goes to “BRAPA Si escaping from Angry Babe in Crafty Leigh (2022)”.

But my real focus was this marvellous sculpture of Chris Tavaré in resolute defence against Terry Alderman in the 1981 Ashes.

Forget the Holben and Hockney though. The highlight of the Ferens was the Open Exhibition featuring hundreds of pieces from local artists, much of it breathtakingly good.  If you go to Hull in the next two weeks,don’t miss it.

 

*Don’t worry. Back to pubs soon.