Those famous Larkin toads of Hull

There's something really special I forgot to tell you about! 

There was another famous man from Hull. He's actually called the 'city's most famous son' and his name was Philip Larkin. (1922-1985).

He was the librarian at the University of Hull for 30 years. He was famous because he wrote books and poetry. 

Two of his poems were about toads (but they really were about working life). So, to celebrate his life, the city did a huge art project and lots of different artists painted these statues of toads.


Can you guess how big they were? 

They were one meter high! (you'll have to figure out how big they were in feet because English people measure with metric). 


Anyway, there were forty of them making a trail all around the city for 10 weeks last year. After lots of people enjoyed them, they were sold off and the money went to charity. 


I was so sad they were gone and I didn't get to see them. But, I was happy because there is one left in the city centre and my hostess said we could go see him before I leave to come back to Alabama. I hope I get to have a ride on him! 


Which one do you think it will be? Take a guess and when I see him, I'll send you a picture and see if you were right!


Bye for now,


Flat Stanley

We visit the Wiberforce House and Museum

 

Hiya again, Miss Mason and class,

After our visit to the City Centre, we went a short way down the street to see the house where one of England's most famous men was born. I got my picture taken with his statue, which is in the front garden of his boyhood home. 

His name is William Wilberforce and he was born in 1759 in the house that you can see in the  picture below. It is now a museum which tells the story of the slave trade and its abolition.

Are you wondering by now what William Wilberforce was so famous for? The purpose of the museum, which was his first home, gives us a clue.

If you guessed that he was an MP (member of Parliament) and that he led the fight to abolish the slave trade in England, then you are right!

The law he got passed was called The Slave Trade Act of 1807. It took him 16 years of debating in Parliament before he got it passed.

This law stopped British ships from stealing people away from their homes in Africa and taking them to America to become slaves.

There is a movie about William Wilberforce called 'Amazing Grace' and I think we are going to watch it soon. 

Next, my hostess took me on a walk around to the biggest church in Hull. On the way, I got to stop inside a telephone booth. They sure look different from the ones in Alabama! Here I am.

Can you see me?

Here I am in front of Holy Trinity Church. This church is over 700 years old and is the largest parish church in England. William Wilberforce was baptized here.   

Across the narrow, cobblestone street, I saw this pretty building, which is a restaurant. 

This is St. Mary's church, which is just a short walk from Holy Trinity. The steeple is so tall, I had to take two pictures to get it all in. 

 No one knows exactly how old this church is, but it is at least as old as Holy Trinity. This tower though, was not built until the 1500s.

I hope you liked these pictures of Hull. There are some more places to see, but they will be for another day. 

The next trip we took was to a small city about 10 miles from Hull. We saw some really cool things in the Art Museum in Beverly. I'll write again soon to tell you about them.

Bye for now, or as the British say "Ta"

Flat Stanley

 

This building is across the road from the Maritime Museum. Have you ever seen such a tall, skinny building before? I think it is beautiful though, do you? 

The Maritime Museum in Hull

This is the other side of the Maritime Museum. You can see better how very large it is. It must have lots of stories to tell, don't you think?

Hiya again!

I wanted you to see the beautiful Maritime Museum that sits across from the statue of Queen Victoria in the City Centre. 

That word - maritime - has to do with the sea and the men who made their living catching fish to bring back to sell.

The fishermen would leave out from the port at Hull and sail way out into the North Sea to catch the fish.  It was very dangerous work and sometimes there would be terrible storms at sea. 

You had to be a very brave man to be a fisherman in those days.

The museum is the place where the stories of these men are kept, along with pictures of those days long ago.

Flat Stanley visits Hull City Centre

Hi Miss Mason and class,

Hiya boys and girls!


Did you notice I said "hiya"? That's how English people greet each other. 

We say "ya'll" in Alabama, which really means 'you all'. English people think it sounds funny when we say 'ya'll' (just like we think it sounds funny when they say 'hiya'). 


Today was so much fun! I can't wait to show you the pictures of the City Centre in Hull. (In British English, they sometimes spell words differently from us, like the word center).

We got to see so many beautiful old buildings and statues. My favorite is this one of Queen Victoria. It sits in the middle of the city in a big square and the City Hall and shops surround her. (That's the City Hall in the background).


Did you know that Queen Victoria was Queen for 63 years and that she holds the record for being the longest reigning Queen in history?!


She is also famous for something else quite extraordinary. I suppose I'll just have to tell you what it is since you might be there all day trying to guess.


When her husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861 she was so sad that she wore a black dress and mourned for him for 40 years! Can you believe that?

She was also famous for being Queen when Britain was an empire that stretched all the way around the world. 

(Oh, I forgot to tell you that the reason I am not in this picture is that the statue is so tall, I couldn't get in. But, I'm in a close-up which I will show you next).

Flat Stanley arrives in England!

Dear Miss Mason and class,

Hi boys and girls!

After a very long journey (over 4,000 miles!), I finally got to my home in Hull, England last Wednesday.

 Whew! Was I ever tired after such a long journey! Do you see me here, standing with the Englishman outside our house?

My hostess was very nice and the first thing she said was, "Would you like a cup of tea and a biscuit?"

Well, in Alabama, I like my tea in a tall glass with ice and sugar and lemon. And biscuits? in the afternoon?

How funny these Englishmen are! They drink tea hot, in a cup, with sugar and milk! And biscuits are not biscuits at all. They are cookies!

These Englishmen love tea so much, they even say they are having their tea when what they really mean is, we're eating our dinner.