Göteborg as the locals insist on calling it. Wouldn't mind a few with the passion of Napoli, as they insist on calling themselves, Supporters. This was always a favourite of a long departed CI poster. They don't stop dead and wait to be told what to do by the tooled up police, like ours would. Then come the second bunch, who had hijacked a train In Naples, the equivalent of our OSC.
Having walked down Anlaby Road and Spring Bank before and after the game last night you've got nothing to worry about.
But it's not like for like is it? Hamburg is Germany's no. 1 port, a better comparison would be with a second category German port like Duisburg or Cuxhaven
Yes we've some way to go before we can catch up with Felixstowe and Immingham, who both dwarf Hull in terms of volume of of port trade.
50,000 killed in air raids on Hamburg, 750,000 made homeless. No sign of any damage in the early 1960s. Whilst over 70 years later every other week you hear someone explaining how Hull had to rebuild and how it has held Hull back. Now we have the sounds of the blitz for COC. Visitors from Hamburg, Cologne and a host of German cities, Warsaw, St Petersburg and even Caen in France which had more deaths in 6 days around D-day than Hull had in 6 years will have a wry smile. Have a read about Wroclaw, last year's European City Of Culture to see a city which as been through the mill. Onlyn26 years since the fall of Communism to put things straight but no need for them to have last minute building work to get ready. Look for hotels and here are 340 on one site alone, no having visitors staying in places 30 miles away. Who is to blame for Hull having to catch up? There is one nearly constant since WW2.
Everyone knows they have been and continue to be ****, but this not the only factor. Lack of support from central government and the decline of the fishing industry have had big impacts also. The council haven't been able to get meaningful assistance from the central government - whose fault is that? Both IMO. One of the reasons Hull has an image problem is that this country has a lot of snobby prejudiced people who tend to form the opinions for the more gullible people in this country, and this too in a small way is another example of the drip-drip-drip of negativity that has surrounded Hull. Who would invest or open up a business in that frightful dreary northern backwater? We are not alone in suffering from that of course. This COC thing is our best chance for decades to turn the tide, or at worst to get a smart makeover the likes of which we won't ever get again. It won't right past wrongs and it won't bring the thousands of meaningful jobs Hull needs. I doubt it will even help us get a motorway or electrified rail line, but it'll do for now.
Let's hope it does, though I don't expect to see a motorway or electrified rail line in my relatively short remaining time. Hull, of course, isn't alone in suffering get from an image problem with people south of Nottingham. Central government has indeed not helped. Especially galling when Labour was in power seeing we have always had Labour MPS in Hull, cabinet ministers and a deputy PM. Ironic that this record investment is happening under a tory government, though mainly for coincidental reasons and not any great munificence on their part.
I've been going on about this for weeks, it really does seem weird that they appear to have moved on from some sections but not bothered getting rid of those bits of material or finished off all the mortar in between slabs. There's a bit outside the entrance to Princes Quay on Carr Lane which is really ****.
Anyone know what's going on with the pools outside Holy Trinity? (Or did I imagine them?) I thought there were going to be pools in the square, but it's all paving You can see water through some gaps though. Are they going to uncover pools for Summer and pave again for Winter? That would be impressive if they are? Cheers
I went along thinking the same thing. Apparently the "mirror pools" are the shinier paving slabs. They're only meant to be about a quarter of an inch deep. Guess it needs to rain to see them properly.
They're not on yet, like the fountains in Vicky Square, they're waiting for the opening event to be out the way, as there's too much traffic at the mo.