A Trip to the Far East.

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Yesterday, I set off on a trip to the Far East, in pursuit of a Japanese band that I have become slightly obsessed about.

I was a most interesting and illuminating venture.

I have never been to Hull before.

I did 'live' in North Lincolnshire in the '70s, but that was before the bridge, when Hull might as well have been in Norway. So an approach via the bridge was planned, with two of my previous homes being passed on the way.

This was where I 'lived' before I came to Stafford - hardly changed in forty six years.

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Lincolnshire's major (only?) asset is the sky.

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The slight slope in those two pictures, leading down to the utter flatness, is known locally as The Cliff.

Dear God!

And that's more blue sky than I remember in three years there.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
From Lincoln, I headed north to the semi-abandoned RAF station where I 'lived' after returning from three years of continuous excitement in Cyprus, to the Land Where Nothing Ever Happened.


As I approached, I could see the hangars on the horizon - but they turned out to be just gigantic piles of straw bales.

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And a bit more sky.

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This was our house - fifteen miles from anything at all and with two buses a week - an hour each way in the back of an old van to get to school.

I did meet the people who have the 'pleasure' of living there now - because I parked in 'their space' for a minute to take the picture. I told them that I was happy that they were 'living' in my old house. It is exactly what they deserve.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
For something that's been exposed to the miserable weather of the east of England for over forty years, it seems in very good condition.

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After this point, the wind, as @Lucy alludes to elsewhere, became so strong that successful photography was not possible.

This next picture was probably just a result of hanging onto the camera..

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I have no recollection of taking it and am not usually one for the arty presentation.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The footpaths form part of a poetry trail, and this plaque is on the east side of the northern tower.

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The Humber in all its glory.

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There are strenuous efforts to obstruct the 'urban explorer' - the footpath on the western side was blocked, preventing a 'circular' recrossing - not so much because the scaffolding made it difficult for pedestrians, but because it afforded an easier means to ascend the main cables, I suspect.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The bridge makes much more of an effort to be a 'place' than the two Severn crossings do, even though they both have double-sided pedestrian crossing facilities. The Humber Bridge has a sizeable car park, picnic area and a pleasant wooded 'park', of sorts, immediately after the toll booths (just £1:50 for a crossing, which was less than I expected).

The car park was host to some remarkably well-behaved hot-hatch lads.

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One of the many nice trees.

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And an indication that the riverbanks are higher than they might seem.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Anyway, I eventually got to the venue. When they played there last year, I thought "The Adelphi" sounded like it might be a bit too big and a bit too posh.

I was wrong.

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I resolved, after having seen the photos of last year, that I would make the effort - it was well worthwhile.

Inside, it was like being on the set of a Harrison Ford movie...

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It was a great night.

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They certainly take no prisoners.
 

Noah

Well-Known Forumite
"Hull's iconic music venue has been the launch pad to many an illustrious career and hosted a veritable Who's Who of popular music since opening in 1984. There is a large main music room and a smaller front bar that accommodates a pool table. Predominantly open on weekends when bands are on but hours may vary at other times so please check the pubs website for full details. Cover charges may apply to the music room but the front bar remains free."

Or

From Hell, Hull & Halifax ...
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
It's a great venue for a 'certain type' of act, not ideal for Michael Bublé, perhaps, but spot on for the sort of thing that you might have gone to see in 1980.

The support act were excellent too, and would have gone down well on the college circuit - about fifteen years before they were born.

One of the patrons of the club, which is essentially some sort of community cooperative-type venture, is Jarvis Cocker - as portrayed here, in my failed attempt to record the new bass guitar.

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It's difficult to believe that the place still exists, much less actually thrives, this far into the next century.

Long may it last.
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
Brings back memories of learning Japanese in readiness for sons (then ) Japanese girlfriend when she came to stop at ours for 5 weeks.

(But she was into groups like S club 7 and One direction :o Her mother had a photo on her phone of him around their house in Osaka and kept telling her mates ' One Direction' :lol: )

Mutant Monster are a bit more my music ... enjoying my cider with it at the moment :)
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Mutant Monster are a bit more my music ... enjoying my cider with it at the moment :)
I will tip you off when they're next on, though they are in Nottingham on Thursday...

I have the quite rare DVD of a Nagoya concert a few years ago - they really have got into their stride now - I'm not that keen on the rest of the Japanese scene, one odd thing is that it is largely a female industry.

The girls do use a UK-based chap, Toshi, as a roadie when they're here, he is massively efficient - everything is where it should be for them and works straight away and works all the way through - very Japanese.

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Not actually as morose as he looks here.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Yes, but until you've been to Immingham …. you haven't lived. :eek::?::barf:
For a year, I went to school in Brigg, It was on the flightpath often used by oil company private jets landing at the small airport near Immingham, that the burgeoning North Sea oil industry has caused to be created from one of the many abandoned wartime airfields.

One frosty day, a load of us were obliged to venture across the playing fields to the cricket square and then to scuff all the frost off the whole area.

The school, though a state operation, had some boarders, and one of them had crept out in the middle of the night to draw a gigantic anatomical symbol on the cricket square, by scraping the white frost off, to reveal the green grass below.

This had resulted in a phone call to the school from the control tower, after a few of the important executive passengers had complained about the welcome...
 
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