Happy New Year.

Well Hull's City of Culture year 2017 kicked off with a very loud bang yesterday. The fireworks were perhaps not as massive as those in London, but they were certainly very numerous and beautiful, going on for about 15 mins. However combined with the big screen and music sound track they were fantastic. There was a poem read out with a film to accompany it and during the explosions was a film and music all by musicians connected with Hull. It was great.

The photographs in the press are stunning, but I thought I would give you ours! They were set off from two barges moored off the marina.

Before the fireworks we had mustered at Queen Victoria Square for the start of the Made in Hull  installation. They have projected the story of the last seventy years oh Hull's History on the three iconic buildings round the square, Ferens Art Gallery, The Maritime Museum and the City Hall. It was very well done and highly emotional too and called 'We are Hull'.

Doesn't look too much this close but the lights and sound were fantastic. See press and Youtube for better pictures.

There are severa other installations around the town too. One in Zebedee's Yard was just the sound of a football crowd at KCOM Stadium lit by floodlights called Invisible Flock. As it is enclosed on all sides the sounds reverberated just as at a match and at a peak of well over 100db it was quite awesome. There was another about the working man and employment called '(In)Dignity of Labour' near Scale Lane Bridge and another in an underpass called Embers about the the club scene and self expression and The Deep submarium was lit with a one called Arrivals and Departures about all those who have arrived in the city from all over the world. All in all a great experience, and a great way to see the town. We are going a couple of times more in the week it is on between 1600 and 2100 until 7th January. We then went for an Indian meal by the marina before stepping out to watch the fireworks.

I have also being looking at our 2016 cruising statistics and costs. After careful consultation with publications, log books, and most detailed of all, Helen, I see that we completed 776 miles and 558 locks. That is in seven or eight weeks less cruising than 2015 when we completed 752 miles and 524 locks!

Year          Miles          Locks

2014         1027            764

2015           752            524

2016           776            558

TOTAL    2555           1848

Navigations visited are:-

Coventry Canal

Birmingham and Fazeley Canal

Grand Union

Digbeth Branch

Worcester and Birmingham Canal

Birmingham Main Line, New  

Netherton Tunnel Branch

 Dudley No.2 Canal

Dudley No.1 Canal

Birmingham Main Line, Old.

Stratford upon Avon Canal

River Avon

River Severn

Droitwich Barge Canal

Droitwich Canal, narrow.

Oxford Canal North

Oxford Canal South

River Thames

River Wey

Wey and Godalming Canal

Basingstoke Canal

Grand Union Slough Arm

Grand Union, Paddington Arm

Regents Canal

Grand Union, Northampton Branch.

Thats 24 navigations if you count the Oxford Canal as North and South (which I know they are not).

In 2014 we touched on 38 and 2015, 37. We must be slowing up in our old age. 

I doubt we will approach anywhere near these figures for this year, 2017, as we will be spending plenty of time in Hull Volunteering for our Year of Culture.