i wonder if we are all suffering from 'Culture fatigue'? I know the first 6/7 months, I went to everything. The odd things I have tried since, I couldn't get tickets. I guess it takes a lot of events to fill a year. I must admit I was disappointed by the summer holiday events. Having experienced Edinburgh Festival, I assumed it would be a mini version of that, with loads of entertainment throughout the day everyday. In hindsight, we would never generate sufficient numbers of attenders to support those, but I did expect more and do get the feeling the programme for the last two quarters has tailed off?
And that is the first negative comment I have made about the City if Culture which I totally embraced for the first half and thought it was absolutely fantastic.
I see where you are coming from askew, but even though I have not attended everything, and some of the stuff I have attended has been, to put it politely, crap to me, I don't share your concern about fatigue. This is, lets face it, a once in a lifetime event and from the off it has blown the socks off a lot of people, I cannot remember such a buzz in the city since the days of Bailey's nightclub and the likes, when the City centre even attracted people from the rest of Yorkshire for a night out. I am not artistic but have enjoyed some of the art on show, I have been to the University to see stuff there, the other week I was on Bransholme in C of C related stuff and I even watched the Gay Stuff, (no gags please and I know its not part of C of C). Simply because I will never experience the atmosphere again, there was a Science Fair at Hull College back in the 60's and that was a once in a lifetime thing then, I went to that and I'm glad I did as indeed it has never returned. Not only that, seeing as what has happened to Hull, publicity and the like, there is now a squabble to become the next C of C such has the impact been on a place that was once regarded as the end of the earth.
It still is but its the end of the earth that is no longer a backwater, we still lose out with government funding, and have done since the war, they are still haggling about Castle St so that is a battle to be continued, but possible investment in a number of ventuers makes for an interesting future for Hull. The news that the C of C committee is to continue beyond 2017 is a good step as they have really done a fantastic job, but the momentum needs to be continued, who know if it will be? But for a while at least, Hull is being talked about whilst not being derided, on the football front, I'm afraind I lost faith in the game a long time ago and so anything that is happening at Hull City AFC just saddens me, I remember being locked out at Boothferry Park so know about footballing lows. So for the last 3 months I want to take as much in as possible, good and bad, and the Turner prize stuff is on my list, I mean ballet, but what a show stopper that turned out to be, Hull? You must be joking. No.
