A bit more about Hull and those moths (59)

They had their own 'phone business

Well I've got a few last observations on Hull.

They have managed to reinvent themselves - if you go back to the 60's and early 70's the big business was fishing and they still retain good relations with Iceland  (this statue has a 'double' in Iceland - and this is actually a replacement, the original was nicked for scrap).

Well it's someone looking out to Sea (for the fish)

The statue is known as Voyage and is by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir.

The City (unusually) doesn't have a cathedral it has an enormous parish church which Archbishop Sentamu is due to upgrade to a Minster this year.

It's a big church (Holy Trinity Church)  but it's not a Cathedral 

(The Late) Mick Ronson was very much the heart of The Spider from Mars (David Bowie's imagined and realised band) - he was from Hull and is remembered by a café named for him.

It's how he'd want to be remembered (perhaps) 

Amy Johnson (who flew a 'Moth') is the inspiration of the moth trail that's another part of the Cultural experience..

On a company wall,

On a restaurant 

It's got a flight path on it

This was near hotel reception

And this just across the road from the hotel

In a retail park too

A red one not to be missed

Most of the Moths will eventually be auctioned for good causes (in May).

Doors

Gordon Road is my main way into Ealing and the Broadway station here's number 59 - Perhaps it's the famous Gordon (Charles George) who it's named for?

A road regularly traversed 

£75.06

Multiple bells indicate flats 

Hull- Nice place and another book finished (58)

Made to feel welcome in Hull

Well We continue to find out more about the UK by visits and chatting with people when we can.

Hull as City of Culture is very welcoming. Last night we went and took a look at the Great Thornton Street Flats - residents there have transformed the nigh landscape with simple application of filters.

A small action can transform a residential estate into something welcoming and human 

other highlights include the powerful Wilberforce House Museum - reminder of the actions Great Britain took to end slavery, including 'Sugar strike' which held firm despite our well known sweet tooth.

Wilberforce was unhappy with his nose

A powerful message about slavery

The worrying thing is that slavery still exists 

[Oh yes and the break has given me the chance to read Grayson's Book Playing to the Gallery , from his Radio 4 Reith Lecture series of nearly 4 years ago- very good read.]

Back on the game with £74

Doors

Liking this door in Northcote Avenue -it's seen some life too

Norhtcote Avenue in W5

Brown and knocked about.

The Maritime history of Hull (57)

Well we're still away and yesterday found out more about Hull and its maritime past at the museum that looks back on when it was England's third most important
port (after London and Liverpool).

It's still £72 .50 (fourh time)

As well as things about Whales there are bits from boats like The Earl of Beaconsfield.

Doors

In W8 for a change

Turn out that light

enjoying sights of Hull and (56)

Sadly the storms of Doris Day  slowed our train down and we arrived in Hull about 3 hours late.
Great though that our hotel could not have been closer (pretty much on the concourse)

queen Victoria stayed here

It's a real pleasure to find how much the status as City of Culture is having on the city - there's a big moth thing going in here (more about that later)

Larkin the poet/librarian is associated with the city

And can you believe it £72 50  third time 

Doors

A nice looking sign, again in the Brentham  garden suburb development.

Here's 56

White in Art (55)

Part of the visit to the Tate Modern this week was actually investigating what 'modern  artists'  have done working with just white - there's a whole room of it.

The 'picture below is by Netherlands Artist Bram Bogart who has worked as a house painter which may partially  account for his playful use of cement.

The work next to it is 3 dimensional and shows much about light and shadow.

This is by Bram Bogart called 'White Plane White'' 1974

A white work by Jan Schoonhoven

So it wasn't only the Tate Modern where I was seeing White , here's some from Eduardo Paolozzi at the Whitechapel Gallery - more about that visit soon...

A rather neat embossed job at Whitechapel

Not only embossing but Ceramic too

Another day but still £72 50 while we're away

And £72.50 twice

Doors

Here's a door in the historic Brentham garden suburb (Ealing).

At Tate Modern with painters (54)

In this age of Photography and with a history behind us (largely) of great painting  of course the question can be asked is painting over?

Well James took us around some Modern painting to see the direction Modern artists have taken painting and hanging works (generally on canvas) in.

Course Leader James stands next to 'Los Moscos' by US artist Mark Bradford

The work above is much influenced by the neighbourhood and maps. It is large and  is about Los Angeles, made of paper Fragments which the artist connects with memory.

Unusually the artist a Black American  is a qualified hairdresser who graduated in Art at the age of 30.

More about this visit, the fourth of the  CityLit course soon.

£72. 50 (once)

As we're away for a few days I've added £5 to cover the next days.

Doors

Hidden away there you can just about see it's Mattock Lane

The steps make it imposing

Photography at Tate Modern (53)

Photography taking centre stage

Back at Tate Modern for part four of the CityLit Intro to Tate Modern (more on that another day) - surprised at how very exited as I went around the Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition, photographic exhibitions vary and what this was was engaging.

Tillmans is great

The range was great from Portraiture (including giants of the 20th Century like Richard Hamilton and Oscar Niemeyer) to landscape, pictures that were photographic collages  and some that mirrored the abstract art that can be seen elsewhere in the gallery.




Another of the things I loved seeing was really big photographs you felt you could walk into, here was work that competed with the large canvases, work about the human condition, looking at issues like pollution but also great images shoeing the cosmos.

Rather Black & White

Quite different from The Radical Eye  the collection of Elton John's that is also showing - this is (by its nature) about a collection and a collection of historic black and white photographs, some superb (like the Man Rays) but my criticism of it would be that  it tells us a lot more about Elton than the wider world.

Breaking my own rules today £67 50

Doors

This road seems to be connected to family from a Surrey Village (Lindfield) - the door looks like perhaps it has seen a bit of life.

Lindfield means 

Yes it is 53 at the top of the door