Hull to Barnsley or Bust

Midday meetings at Hull Town Hall in the 1800's were always poorly attended by the public. 

A notable exception was in 1880 for an address by Colonel Gerard Smith about the Hull and Barnsley Railway and Dock Bill. 

Kingston Upon Hull was founded on a strong and independent character and with a healthy disregard and scorn for heavy handed National or Corporate Concerns. For the half century prior to this particular Town Hall gathering the business community and working population had been stifled by the monopolies exerted by two very powerful commercial entities in the form of the North Eastern Railway and the Hull Dock Company. 

It should be said that these two large and influential organisations had invested in Hull but their loyalties and decisions were to the benefit of their wealthy shareholders and this was often contrary to the development and economic growth of the town and in the consolidation of its place in the national economy. 

A cited example was that the North Eastern Railway favoured the transporting of coal to Hartlepool and Grimsby to the obvious exclusion of Hull which was geographically the natural route. As a holder of major local landed areas and resources the Hull Dock Company was obstructive and resistant to any competition. In 1872 the NER had flexed its commercial clout and had temporarily delayed shipments of fish from the Port creating a disruptive logjam of rail traffic. The shipowners, merchants and working people of Hull viewed the NER with mistrust, suspicion and a developing anger. 

Colonel Smith was heralded as a hero for Hull in battling with the vested interests and big business to initiate a new and exciting railway line through the successful passing in Parliament of the Railway and Dock Bill. 

Within a few days of the meeting there was to be the declaration of a public holiday in celebration.

There was already a railway line westwards towards Barnsley although it actually terminated at Cudworth, about two miles short. The proposed new railway would open up six new routes by connecting with other existing lines as far west as Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Halifax, Leeds and Wakefield, southwards to Sheffield, Birmingham and the Midlands. 

The line would also open up new areas in the huge Yorkshire Coal Fields where millions of tons of the black gold were just waiting to be exploited. 

Hull by its pioneering effort would be the natural beneficiary in the movement of the coal as well as all of the ancillary commerce in general freight traffic. 

It would for all of the mass euphoria be the largest ever scheme to be undertaken calling upon an estimated four million pounds in capital ( 75% by share issue and the remainder in loans) as well as the need to enter into co-operative agreements with other railway line operators. 

The relative isolation of Hull from the rest of the country called for the best engineering minds and skills particularly as the new route would go through the rolling topography of the some of the most beautiful countryside of the East Riding. 

Key infrastructure was also to be developed from scratch not just for the railway but also the essential element of a Dock. Hull Corporation fully backed the project and made land available which was a key factor. 

The chief passenger station was to be located in Kingston Square in the central area of Hull and with other stations at Newington, St Johns Wood (Queens Road), Sculcoates (Beverley Road) and Botanic Gardens. A branch line for freight trains was to be founded at Neptune Street and Dairycoates. On leaving Hull the line would head out to the then small villages of Willerby and Kirkella, Little Weighton and via a tunnel to South Cave and North Cave. There was a flatter course to Howden, Drax, Carlton, Heck, Kirk Smeaton to reach the  the South Yorkshire Coalfied. 

Work on the new line and dock followed and it was completed by 1885. Mechanical steam powered excavators were used being amongst the first time to support the work of around 8000 navvies. 

The route required over one hundred bridges and with twenty of these within the urban area of Hull. 

A shortage of funds led to a stop in work for 5 months in 1884 and the cost had increased to closer to ten million pounds. As a victim of the necessary cuts to the budget the intended landmark building of the Kingston Square Station was never built although an aerial depiction of Hull around that time showed a grand terminus which will have been a major asset to the town. Cannon Street served as the centrepiece . 

The Alexandra Dock was at the time of its construction the largest in Britain and with its successful role in the export of coal. 

The burden of debt of the Company was targeted by those longstanding and aggrieved competitors at the North Eastern Railway and Hull Dock Company who within 12 months of the line opening started a price war on transit and dock charges respectively. 

This was the beginning of the end and approaches were made to the Midland Railway and even as a last resort to the NER itself for amalgamation. The proud shareholders rejected both moves and in 1887 the Company went into Receivership albeit in a strategic move which saw a re-emergence and continued operations until Nationalisation of the Railways in the early 1920's. 

It had been a momentous ride. 

The Ituri Itinerary 1905

It may have been a last gasp in the history of the British Empire when nations and peoples under the rule of London were regarded as being available at a whim for the exploitation, pleasure and entertainment of their masters.

In June 1905 a soldier, traveller and big-game hunter from East Yorkshire, Colonel James J Harrison was furthering his pursuits in the Ituri or Stanley Forest region of the Eastern Congo in Africa.

It was the home of various tribes of Pygmies, the diminutive natives who existed as nomads in a harsh environment roaming about unclothed which to the genteel Edwardians was regarded as a trademark of irreligious bush savages.

For those who befriended the pygmies and took time to learn their ways and customs it was obvious that theirs was an intelligent culture relying on bravery and strength. Their lives were not long by European expectations of the day but nevertheless full and to be valued.

Colonel Harrison, unsuccessful in hunting Okapi, coaxed six of the Ituri from the forest to accompany him on what turned out to be an adventure of three years away from their families and loved ones.

There was opposition to the announcements of the travelling half dozen from anti-slavery organisations including the Aboriginal Protection Society who managed to strand the party in Cairo for some time in the early stages of their passage to England but the fact that they were not British citizens meant that no action could be taken to prevent them boarding the passenger ship Orestes which docked in London in the summer of 1905.

Harrison's motives may have been questionable in that with no apparent consideration of human rights the African visitors were booked to appear at the Hippodrome Theatre along the theme of a freak show.

The stage was dressed as the deepest, darkest jungle and the public flocked to have a sight of and gawp at the crude tableau. Chief Bokore and Princess Quarke took the limelight assisted by the 18 year old Mogonga, Matuka 23, Masutiminga aged 22 and the senior Annirape at 31.

On their day off, Sundays, they travelled in a 16 vehicle convoy around the countryside and were invited to attend in July 1905 the birthday party at Buckingham Palace of Princess Victoria.

Colonel Harrison did remain as their patron and in the August they were billeted as guests at his large country house in Brandesburton, near Beverley in East Yorkshire, They remained as celebrities and 3000 locals, which for the period will have represented most of the population of the East Riding, paid to see them.

It must have been a relaxing time as well for the intrepid six as they made themselves very much at home. Villages would regularly see them stalking and hunting birds and rabbits in the expansive Hall grounds and making arrowheads at the Blacksmiths Forge on Main Street. They were regular attenders of Sunday School in the good old Missionary spirit of Africa,

The exhibiting continued for the next two and a half years in the Moss Stahl Empire Theatres of the North-West followed by Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Midlands, West London, Bradford, Portsmouth and then into Europe to Berlin.

In East Yorkshire they were regular attractions for the seaside trippers to Hornsea and Withernsea.

Back in London there was a photo opportunity at the House of Commons and more money spinning performances at Olympia and Earls Court.

It appears that although used for profit and gain the six were not badly treated and even thrived on their celebrity status.

By the time they left the Port of Hull on SS Hindoo bound for the Congo in early 1908 over 1 million people had been privileged to share the life and times of the Ituri residents. 

It was a remarkable concluding chapter of the influence of the Old Empire over so many of the world's peoples.

In addition to a few grainy photographs there were scratchy 78 rpm recordings made of their conversations as a lasting archive.

Just enjoy the rain

The following is an edited transcript of a BBC 4 extra radio play that aired this week. The work, entitled "The State of Water" is a drama around a Welsh Hill farming family and the decisions they have to make to conserve the natural water resources on their land. 

The writer, Sarah Woods blends language and emotions with a factual thread which taps into the whole theme of water supplies and security which are becoming a significant consideration across the globe.

"Each of us is made up of 60% of water.

It is in our blood, heart, arteries, veins and capillaries.

It conducts the electrical signals in our brains to allow us to function. Water lubricates our joints, allows eyes to turn in their sockets, dissolves enzymes and hormones and carries amino acids, carbohydrates and minerals, carbon dioxide and electrolytes.

Of the 150 litres that each of us uses every day we drink only 6 litres. Some 50 litres is used in showers and spills from taps. 20 litres run through the washing machine, 45 litres are flushed down the toilet. The rest just drips away as we wash foodstuffs at the sink or brush our teeth.

We rely on water to produce just about everything in our lives.

A single tomato from seed to sandwich filling uses 13 litres of water. A hamburger from grazing pasture to the inside of a sesame seed bun takes 2400 litres. A pair of leather shoes is a consumer of 8000 litres and the production of a car, 400000 litres.

A sip of tea contains 136 drops of Indian water, the equivalent sip of coffee 1100 Brazilian drops. The perfect accompaniment for a roast dinner, potatoes were irrigated in Egypt. A refreshing orange comes from Spain and other citrus fruits from the sun drenched eastern Mediterranean.

Water surrounds particles and puts them in solution.

There are organic compounds from decaying plants, crypto spiridium from animal faeces, pesticides from the fields seep into the water in the absence of filtering peat and soils, slurry leaks into the watercourses and strangles the oxygen which asphyxiates the fish, over-use of fertilisers encourages a poisonous algae bloom, industrial processes leach iron, aluminium, tin, lead and cadmium into the water and this is joined by other toxic waste from car oil to rubbish tips, pollutants from cooling water as it is returned and heavy metals from panel beaters, dentists and university laboratories.

The solution bio-accumulates in our bodies and bones. The contraceptive pill and HRT put oestrogen into the water. Raindrops, thick and heavy with particulates from the burning of fossil fuels absorb Carbon and Nitrogen dioxides resulting in sulphuric and nitric acid. This increases as more rain releases aluminium and metals which kills insects and the wildlife that feed on them.

As the earth warms up ,water vapour fills the air. Summers around the globe and the natural aquifers become drier and as this happens there are greater demands for water.

Glaciers melt which causes problems for the 1 in 6 of the population who rely on meltwater. Sea level rises from glacial melt meaning that saltwater overwhelms freshwater supplies.

Downpours are more severe and concentrated and yet as half of the world suffers from devastating floods, the other withers from punishing drought.

Water is a finite resource and yet we take it for granted. Seagoing tankers take 36 million litres of freshwater from France to 330000 homes in Spain whose residents are in water crisis. 

There is no more and no less of it. We drink the water that our ancestors bathed in .

There is nothing to replace it with when it is gone."

Burns a hole in the pocket

It is the morning after Burns Night 2021. I have, in frugal style, scraped up the last of the Haggis from the corners of the serving dish as it stands on the cooker top trying to avoid the scraps of neaps which from experience have a bitter overnight aftertaste. 

With a gloriously naughty feeling on what is a working day I run my finger around the inside of the whisky glass used for the previous evenings toasts and get just a wee sensation of the essence of Scotland. 

Ours had been a grand Burns Supper, one of countless millions celebrated globally by the upwards of 45 million or more who possess a Scottish ancestry. 

From The New York Public Library

Today, it is back to business and an opportunity to reflect on the value of the poet and lyricist Robert Burns to Scotland not just in artistic and cultural terms which are a given but in cold hard cash revenues to the national economy. 

I am looking to update an exercise commissioned by the BBC in 2009 on this very issue- how much does the Burns Brand generate for the nation? 

Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Ayrshire in 1759. 

In his relatively short life, he died aged 37, he produced great works of prose, poetry and song in the Scottish dialect and these have endured amongst a home grown and worldwide audience. He was not always appreciated in his own lifetime, indeed it was not really until the late Victorian era that an interest was shown in all things from North of the Border from fashion to design, art and crafts, literature and furniture. 

Scotland has produced, for its population, a disproportionate number of exceptional individuals in science, philanthropy, the arts, invention and as entrepreneurs. The Victorians wanted to be associated with such a progressive cultural attitude and Robert Burns was at the forefront of the movement, albeit posthumously. 

It was not therefore instant stardom and celebrity for the man. 

Even as recently as 2004 the sustainability of Burns as a national icon was under pressure when funding organisations withdrew from their support of the Birthplace Museum in Alloway. Declining visitor numbers led to dwindling income. Deterioration of the Museum building allowed the Burns Family Bible to be damaged by a roof leak and it was only when the National Trust for Scotland and Lottery Money stepped up in or around 2009 that any sort of future was assured. 

Huge investment to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Burns  allowed construction of a new Heritage Centre and attractions in Ayrshire and the future of the Burns Brand was assured. 

In 2009 the BBC consulted the great and the good in order to come up with an estimated figure for the revenue generated by all things Burns. 

They considered five broad categories of income that were intrinsically linked to the current cult-status  centred on the poet. 

1) General Tourism. There are millions of visitors to Scotland every year and Ayrshire is a destination for many followers of Burns. Income is derived from hotel accommodation, restaurants and shops, taxi fares, bus fares, guide books and services. 

2)Burns Merchandise. The Heritage Centre and on line shops have a range of quality products in the Burns Brand ranging from expensive lyric -engraved jewellery to chess sets and snowglobes to the best selling fridge magnets. Summer visitors like the themed postcards and as Burns Night, 25th January approaches, the sales of napkins and tea towels ramp up. 



3)Haggis. Not many foodstuffs have their own poem in celebration. This blend of lambs lungs, offal, oats, gravy and other things.....is available all year round but with a spike in volumes for the traditional Supper. It is quite a scrap in my local stockist to secure an elusive MacSweens Haggis for this occasion. Don't forget the tatties and neaps. Oatcakes and soup sales also peak. 

 

4)Whisky. I do  not have much to add to the production figures for this national tipple by way of emphasising the income generating ability of this product. 

5) Miscellaneous items. These are as varied as kilt and sporran hire to fees for a Piper, choirs, Master of Ceremonies, Guest Speakers and admission prices for Corporate Events. 

The wide range of inputs in this calculation does, as you will appreciate, give potential for a huge margin of error. 

Since the 2009 BBC guesstimate there has been inflationary and other pressures at play. One single element has been the increase, over that period, in the adult admission charge to the Heritage Centre from £5 to £9. 

Crunching the numbers, in my update, produces a figure of £196 millions. 

Robert Burns would, I think, be pleased about his 21st Century wealth generating capabilities although ironically he struggled in his lifetime with his own finances. 

Not that he was really bothered by material things as a line from his "Country Lassie" testifies "Content and Loove brings peace and joy".

Scorchers by Burns

 It is the celebration of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns today, 25th January and so to get us all in the spirit of the event here are a few olde worlde Scottish sayings and words and other more modern ones...

• I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug! – I’ll give you a slap on the ear.
• Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye! – What’s meant to happen will happen.
• Skinny Malinky Longlegs! – A tall thin person.
• Lang may yer lum reek! – May you live long and stay well.
• Speak o’ the Devil! – Usually said when you have been talking about someone – they usually appear.
• Black as the Earl of Hell’s Waistcoat! – Pitch black.
• Failing means yer playin! – When you fail at something at least you’re trying.
• Mony a mickle maks a muckle! – Saving a small amount soon builds up to a large amount.
• Keep the heid! – Stay calm, don’t get upset.
• We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns! – We’re all God’s children, nobody is better than anybody else – we’re all equal.
• Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs! – Don’t try to teach someone something they already know.
• Dinnae marry fur money! – Don’t marry for money – you can borrow it cheaper.
• Is the cat deid? – Has the cat died? Means your trousers are a bit short – like a flag flying at half mast.
• Haud yer wheesht! – Be quiet.
• Noo jist haud on! – Now just hold it, slow down, take your time.
• Hell slap it intae ye! – Means it’s your own fault.
• I’m fair puckled! – I’m short of breath.
• Do yer dinger. – Loudly express disapproval.
• Gie it laldy. – Do something with gusto.
• Ah dinnae ken. – I don’t know.
• Haste Ye Back! – Farewell saying meaning “return soon”.
• It’s a dreich day! – Said in reference to the weather, when it’s cold, damp and miserable.

Some Scottish sayings that are not so old ……

• Gonnae no’ dae that! – Going to not do that.
• Pure dead brilliant – Exceptionally good.
• Yer bum’s oot the windae – You’re talking rubbish.
• Am pure done in – I’m feeling very tired.
• Am a pure nick – I don’t look very presentable.
• Ah umnae – I am not.
• Ma heid’s mince – My head’s a bit mixed up.
• Yer oot yer face! – You’re very drunk.
• Yer aff yer heid – You’re off your head – a little bit daft.

And some Scottish slang words ……

• Aboot – About
• Ain – Own
• Auld – Old
• Aye – Yes
• Bahooky – Backside, bum
• Bairn – Baby
• Bampot- Idiot
• Barry- splendid
• Baw – Ball
• Bawface – Describes someone with a big round face.
• Ben – Mountain, or through
• Bevvy-drink
• Bide – Depending on the context, means wait, or stay.
• Blether – Talkative, when referred to a person. To “have a blether” is to have a chat.
• Blutered- very drunk
• Boggin-filthy or disgusting
• Bonnie – Beautiful
• Bowfing – Smelly, horrible
• Braw – Good, or brilliant
• Breeks – Trousers
• Coo – Cow
• Clorty- Filthy
• Crabbit – Bad tempered
• Cry – Call, as in what do you call him?
• Dae – Do
• Dauner – Walk – “I’m away for a dauner”
• Didnae – Didn’t
• Dinnae – Don’t
• Dour- glum
• Drap – Drop
• Dreep – Drip
• Drookit – Soaking wet
• Druth- thirsty
• Dug – Dog
• Dunderheid, Eejit, Galoot, Numptie – All mean idiot
• Dunt – Bump
• Eedjit- idiot
• Feart – Afraid
• Fusty- mouldy
• Frae – From
• Galoot- idiot
• Gallus – Bravado, over-confident
• Gang – Go
• Gaunnae – Going to
• Geggie – Mouth, as in “shut your geggie”
• Glaikit – Stupid, slow on the uptake
• Goonie – Nightgown
• Greet – Cry
• Gubbed - Badly
• Gumption – Common sense, initiative
• Gurne- Sulk
• Guttered- Drunk
• Gutties - Plimsolls
• Hae – Have
• Hame – Home
• Hammered- Drunk
• Haud – Hold
• Haver – Talk rubbish
• Hing – Hang
• Hoachin’ – Very busy
• Hokin’ – Rummaging
• Honkin’, Hummin’, Howlin’ – Bad smell
• Hoose – House
• Houghin - Revolting
• Hunner – Hundred
• Hurkle Durkle - messing about
• Huvnae – Haven’t
• Invershnecky- Inverness
• Jobbie - going for shit
• Keech - bird poo
• Keek – A little look
• Ken – Know
• Lum – Chimney
• Mair – More
• Mannie - little man
• Manky - Filthy
• Merrit – Married
• Messages - groceries
• Mockit, Mingin’, Boggin’ – All mean dirty
• Moose – Mouse
• Naw – No
• Neep, Tumshie – Turnip
• Noo – Now
• Numpty - idiot
• Oot – Out
• Peely Wally – Pale
• Piece – A sandwich
• Poke – (to poke – to prod) (a poke – a paper bag)
• Pus - Mouth
• Radgees - Crazy young lads
• Reek – Smell, emit smoke
• Riddy – A red face, embarrassed
• Scran - Food
• Screwball – Unhinged, mad
• Scullery – Kitchen
• Scunnered – Bored, fed up
• Shoogle – Shake
• Shoogly – Shaky, wobbly
• Shuftie - take a look
• Shunky - Toilet
• Simmet – Gents singlet
• Skelp – Slap
• Skoosh – Lemonade (or fizzy drink)
• Skrechin- shriek
• Sleekit – Sly
• Stookie – Plaster cast (for a broken bone)
• Stour – Dust
• Swally - drunk
• Tartle - panic when forgetting someones name
• Tattie – Potato
• Tattyboggler - Scarecrow
• Telt – Told
• Teuchtar - someone for far north west Scotland
• Thon – That
• Wean – Child
• Weegie- Glasgow person
• Wellies – Wellington boots
• Wheest - be quiet
• Whit – What
• Willnae – Will not
• Widnae – Would not
• Windae – Window
• Wummin – Women
• Ye – You
• Yer – Your
• Yin – One

Burns Night 2021

 

 Country Lassie

                                             Robert Burns



In simmer when the hay was mawn, 
And corn wav'd green in ilka field, 
While claver blooms white o'er the lea,
And roses blaw in ilka beild; 
Blythe Bessie, in the milkin-shiel, 
Says, I'll be wed, come o't what will; 
Outspak a dame in wrinkled eild, 
O' gude advisement comes nae ill. 

Its ye hae wooers mony ane, 
And lassie, ye're but young ye ken; 
Then wait a wee, and canie wale,
A routhie butt, a routhie ben: 
There's Johnie o' the Buskieglen, 
Fu' is his barn, fu' is his byre; 
Take this frae me, my bonie hen, 
It's plenty beets the luver's fire. 

For Johnie o' the Buskieglen, 
I dinna care a single flie; 
He loes sae weel his craps and kye, 
He has nae love to spare for me: 
But blythe's the blink o' Robie's e'e, 
And weel I wat he loes me dear; 
Ae blink o' him I wad na gie 
For Buskie-glen and a' his gear. 

O thoughtless lassie, life's a faught, 
The canniest gate, the strife is sair; 
But aye fu' - han't is fechtin' best, 
A hungry care's an unco care: 
But some will spend and some will spare, 
An' wilfu' folk maun hae their will; 
Syne as ye brew, my maiden fair, 
Keep mind that ye maun drink the yill. 

O gear will buy me rigs o' land, 
And gear will buy me sheep and kye; 
But the tender heart o' leesome loove, 
The gowd and siller canna buy; 
We may be poor, Robie and I, 
Light is the burden Loove lays on; 
Content and Loove brings peace and joy,
What mair hae queens upon a throne.
This song was mentioned in a letter which Burns sent to George Thomson on 19 October 1794.

Pay and Dismay

Out of the tragedy and widespread destruction of the bombing of Hull in the Second World War came a unique opportunity for a blank canvas for reconstruction and growth. 

The Plan for Kingston Upon Hull published in 1945 was a far reaching and ambitious document bolstered by the status of the two main contributors, Edwin Lutyens and Patrick Abercrombie. 

One of the many considerations was to reduce the unnecessary loss of life amongst the population from road traffic accidents. 

The inter war figures for fatalities and injuries were disturbingly high on the main City routes of Anlaby Road, Beverley Road, Holderness Road and Springbank. 

It was acknowledged that vehicle movements were necessary for a thriving City and volumes were projected to increase significantly in the Post War Era but what measures could be pioneered to reduce conflict between traffic and pedestrians? 

In Parliament there were debates that the parking of vehicles on busy streets should be prohibited and that adequate space off the highways should be provided. The establishing of a Statutory Parking Authority was discussed but never materialised as a stand alone Central Government Department, rather being devolved to the Local Authorities under their normal traffic management responsibilities. 

Private car ownership was still very rare but there was already talk about either restricting access or alternatively to provide sufficient car parking to keep the streets clear and safer. 

The problem with surface car parks was that they took up a lot of land. A study calculated that some 300 square feet or just under 28 square metres was required for a single car. This covered all of the manouevres for entering and negotiating the car park as well as the actual parking bay itself. 

The Kingston Upon Hull Plan had addressed this issue and advocated the use of modern technology. 

This was under the Baldwin Auger Mechanical Car Park System, an all British invention. 

The system worked as follows. A car arriving at the car park was driven up onto a ramp and on to circulatory steel grates. The Baldwin System had two parallel moving tracks with transveyors at ether end powered by a pair of 12 Horsepower motors. The driver would leave the vehicle which was locked onto the grate and take a ticket. A single Attendant would then send the car on the moveable floor section to any position in the car park leaving the entrance ramp clear for the next and subsequent arrivals. The cars were packed closely together both end to end and side to side in a solid mass but with no risk of collision or damage. 

In this way the space required for a single car was dramatically reduced to around 130 square feet (12m2) so in effect a reduction of more than half when compared to a conventional manual surface car park. 

Although the setting up costs were higher for this type of system the doubling of capacity and lower operational costs made it attractive in financial terms to both private developers and Local Authorities. 

When the occupants of the parked car had finished their city centre visit the presentation of the ticket and payment of up to three old pence per hour enabled the Attendant to recall the vehicle within 3 to 5 minutes. 

It would arrive smoothly and under electro selective gear power to the ultimate convenience of the user. 

The Baldwin system was demonstrated in a limited format in the Post War Era and was favourably received. The high price of land and its limited availability in London in particular was the ideal market for this type technology but actual schemes did not come to fruition. 

To a large extent our current Cities and towns have been shaped by the influence of the motor car and are so much poorer in terms of environment and layout for the failure of Planners and influencers to deal decisively with traffic and parking issues. 

It had been an opportunity for Hull to be a pioneer in this sphere of urban development but other pressures and initiatives took priority as the city and its population sought to recover from the devastation of the 1939-45 conflict. 

English Lesson 21

Just coming to the final letters in this tribute to the BBC Radio Comedy Show, "I'm Sorry I haven't a clue". 

The letter "U" is actually one of the least quoted in the show and so I have supplanted a few of my own interpretations which I hope you will find in the spirt of those painstakingly listed by the ultimate superfan Kevin Hales. 

If you just imagine the superb timing and exceptional delivery of the many greats of the comedy scene then perhaps my efforts will just about be acceptable. Here goes...........................

Undertaker        a half hearted shoplifter

Urdu                  what you get in a Liverpool salon

Upholstery         the first floor of a pub

Umbrage            a bit of an argument between two umbrella users

Undercarriage    being run over by a train

Uretha                a soul singer taking the piss

Usury                Japanese for usually

Unimpressed    extracting a typesetter from the machinery

Uganda            encouragement to have a look

Unscrew           a single prison warder in France

Unholy             a vest but not made of string

Uranus              rudely pointing at someones derriere

Unicorn             The worst joke ever

Undeterred         A skid mark

Unison               Male only child

Undermine        The person on the ground floor of the maisonette you live in

Underpants        A man trying to disguise his poor level of fitness in front of a woman

Utopia                A valid remedy for a jellyfish sting on your foot

Underdog           A successful arrest by a police dog handler

Umpteen            Adolescent sexual activity

Upstairs              Star gazing

Useful                In think you've had enough to eat

Urban                 a lady driver loses her licence

Upset                  to get a better television

Uncanny             open a tin of beans

Umpire               a hesitant Count Dracula

Urchin                Telling Kirk Douglas about his best attribute

Upstart                a high quality call girl

Unique                encouragement to steal

Undergraduate     starting to count students in French

Unite                   an impromptu sexual encounter 

Universe              a very short poem

Until                     a shopkeeper goes to the bank with the days takings

Upkeep                 a castle on a hill

Triple Trawler Legacy

 In November 2017 I went to a performance, as part of the Hull City of Culture Events, of "The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca" by Maxine Peake, a truly emotional and inspirational rendition of the story of the extraordinary band of Headscarf Revolutionaries who took it upon themselves to campaign for the safety and working conditions of deep sea trawlermen. 

Here is a condensed version of the 1968 Government Enquiry, the legacy of those brave women.

As a result of the tragic loss of deep sea trawlers and their crews, brought into sharp focus by the loss of three Hull based trawlers, St Romanus, Kingston Peridot and Ross Cleveland all within just 36 days with the loss of 58 Lives in 1968,  the President of the Board of Trade appointed a Committee to examine the major factors affecting their safety and to make recommendations.

The inquiry revealed that the standardised mortality ratio of fishermen for accidents at work for the years 1959-63 was 1726, seventeen times that for the male population as a whole.

In the age-group 15-44 a fisherman is twenty times more likely to die as a result of an accident at work than all men in other occupations.

The most common cause of death was by losses overboard and deckmen were specially at risk. Deaths were more common on distant water trawlers than others, probably because they operated in more dangerous waters.

Accidents and fatalities on stern trawlers were less common than on side trawlers.

It was not just the perils of the occupation in distant waters that exposed fishermen to such life threatening and life changing risks.

Fishermen had a high mortality from cancer of the lung and stomach, hypertension and bronchitis, and suffered unduly from peptic ulcer and other gastrointestinal illnesses.

Skin disease was about twice as common among fishermen as among all men in the general population and included especially sea water boils and folliculitis, the latter from exposure to chemicals, oils and such things as coal tar.

The Committee recommend the continued operation of a support ship including medical staff off the main fishing grounds of Iceland and it would be an advantage if support ships could be organised on an international basis. 

The Committee noted the poor recording of accidents and recommended that comprehensive and detailed statistics should be sought if accidents were to be prevented and progress in improving standards was to be measured.

With regard to measures to improve the personal safety of deckmen, the main risk occupation on board a trawling operation ,the Committee suggest an investigation of "the ergonomics of human locomotion in an oscillatory and slippery environment". Research should be undertaken with the object of designing a safer layout for the cables that ran out the nets on deck and on the guarding of warps running near working areas. The layout should ensure that men and warps were kept apart. Also recommended were a safer design of towing block, preferably an automatic one, and improvements to the operation and guarding of otter boards (used to spread out the net) and the winch. 

The Board of Trade was to seek powers to lay down statutory requirements on the design, testing and periodic inspection of trawler equipment and gear. 

Research should continue in the effort to produce new and improved working clothing and the Committee recommended that owners should meet the cost and ensure that it was worn. Survival clothing should be supplied in life rafts and crew members should have warm clothing available at all times. 

The Committee were convinced by their own observations, supported by medical experts, and by what was heard from ordinary crew members, that fatigue was a major factor affecting the accident rate on deep sea trawlers. It was recommended, therefore, that the Government should seek powers to lay down statutory requirements that the crew of distant water trawlers receive minimum continuous rest periods on the fishing grounds of at least 6 hours, followed by periods of duty of not more than twice the rest period, and, except in emergency, of not more than 16 hours.

For the crews of near and middle water trawlers there should be at least 6 hours' continuous rest every 24 hours on the fishing grounds. For boys under the age of 17 years, referred to as Deckie-Learners , minimum rest periods of 12 hours per day were recommended.

A minimum of 84 hours' shore leave between voyages was recommended for distant water trawlers and 60 hours for near and middle water trawlers who spent 10 days or more at sea. This gave rise to the name given to trawler crews on their days back on shore as the “Three Day Millionnaires”.

Although the Committee doubted that the common method of payment based on volumes of catch had a major direct effect on fatigue and accident rates at sea, it was suggested that it may have had undesirable effects. It was recommended, therefore, that the present importance of poundage payments was progressively reduced, particularly in the distant water fleet.  Many groups of ship owners ran annual competitions for best performing trawler Skipper such as the Silver Cod amongst the Hull fleet which was prestigious in reputation and cash reward. Many rules and practices designed to safeguard crews would be overlooked in the pursuit for the ultimate accolade of best trawler.

Other recommendations on safety include advice on radio-communications, search and rescue, the design and construction of trawlers, training, management and industrial relations. 

An occupational health service for fishermen would reduce the number of men who were taken ill at sea and have to be landed at ports abroad for medical treatment. There would also be savings in the costs of medical treatment of trawlermen landed abroad. It was recommended that medical services to trawlermen should be extended to all ports and should be increased in scope. 

New entrants to the industry and all men who had been off work owing to sickness or injury should be examined before they were allowed to go to sea. There should be regular examination of older men. The examinations should be thorough and should at least include chest X-ray and an electrocardiograph examination.

There should be full-time medical officers at the larger ports. 

Finally, the Committee recommend the representation of both sides of the industry on joint safety committees in the main ports, and the setting up of a National Trawler Health and Safety Committee was suggested to advise Government departments and the industry on the major factors affecting health and safety in the deep sea fishing fleet. 

The implementation of these measures will have saved countless fishermen from an unnecessary death or injury and ensured that for the few remaining years of deep sea trawling as a viable industry the hard working crews would be able to return to Port and their loved ones.

(Source; HM Government.1968 Enquiry. Record Number : 19702700905Publisher : London: H.M. Stationery Office)