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Monday 2 January 2017

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.

2 comments:

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

Happy New Year, Tony and Helen.
Love and hugs, Marilyn and David

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

By the way, our stats for 2016 are Navigations visited: 2 (Grand Union Leicester Arm on Unknown No 3 with Mick and Julia for an afternoon, and the River Wey for 4 days with the grandsons on a hire boat called Box of Delights), Locks: not many (none on GULA), Miles travelled on the river: Don't know but not very many at all. Time on boats: Nowhere near enough! Time to be spent on boats this coming year: At least 5 months.
Mxxoo