bilboburgler

I was there yesterday and today http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25008856 the city was declared city of culture after beating off strong competition from Leicester, Dundee and Swansea Bay (laughter heard in the wings)

Still on a positive note

Ferens Art Gallery was small but lovely http://www.visithullandeastyorkshire...5723&easi=true

http://www.hulltruck.co.uk/

and before we all get too excited

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-...ail/story.html

hetismij2

Makes as much sense, maybe more, than Leeuwarden being European capital of culture in 2018.

And it is "only" UK cultural city, not European, though that may follow in time I guess.

Despite all it's obvious problems and drawbacks I do like Hull.
Philip Larkin is also a favourite of mine.

flanneruk

Liverpool and Glasgow are hors de combat after their European nomination: there's an unwritten agreement to exclude London, Oxford and Cambridge and a strong sense in Winchester, Bath etc that this isn't for the likes of them. And England's SE gets far too much taxpayer subsidy hurled at it in the name of culture already: any more and we'll become the same servile museum as Rome or Paris.

But there's no doubt that, for many of their citizens, Liverpool and Derry DID gain some self-esteem from their "City of Culture" stint - and the extraordinary boom in tourism to Liverpool did go up a notch after its year.

Doubtless much of the cash will be squandered on the statutory (deservedly) unheard of Hungarian performance artists doing pointless things on stilts. But if it keeps a few theatre companies going, it might add to the gaiety of the area. And there's always Beverley Minster as well.

HUGE mistake, though, overlooking Dundee. Not even Liverpool can compete with the city that gave the world Desperate Dan, Korky, the Sunday Post, the People's Friend - and McGonagall, who both grew up there and wrote his finest poem about its river.

MissPrism

A town with a street called Land of Green Ginger must have something going for it.

MissPrism

A town with a street called Land of Green Ginger must have something going for it.

hetismij2

My brother used to work in the Land of Green Ginger.

Don't forget it is also home to William Wilberforce House.

Not sure if Queen Victoria still sits on the toilet in the middle of the square though.

PatrickLondon

We've been over this ground before. It's not an award for previous cultural achievements or reputation, it's a title that goes with some money to support a programme of cultural activities for that year, and it's awarded on the supposed merits of the programme proposed - with a fair bit of a skew towards those places people wouldn't normally think of as a cultural hub.

(Yes, I was a bit surprised about Dundee, which I found a pleasant surprise when I visited - but who knows how their proposals were deficient? Maybe another time).

uruabam

>(Yes, I was a bit surprised about Dundee, which I found a pleasant surprise when I visited - but who knows how their proposals were deficient? Maybe another time).<

Could be a bit embarrassing if your UK cultural capital wasn't actually in the UK come the event. I know the polls suggest not, currently, but why take the risk

flanneruk

"Could be a bit embarrassing if your UK cultural capital wasn't actually in the UK "

Good point. The nomination is for UK cultural capital 2017.

The SNP's current stance is that, in the event of the pseudo-independence movement winning the 2014 referendum, Scotland should be pseudo-independent in 2016. This policy, however, was written while the SNP was still in denial about the certainty that a Scotland pseudo-independent in 2016 would not be a member of the EU.

In practice, no Scottish government would be so stupid as to cut away from Britain until the EU membership issue was clear: which means a "shadow" Scottish legislature would have to submit its EU application, then deal with the negotiations following the application's certain immediate rejection (Britain would be delighted to see the back of a bunch of perpetual whingers: Spain and Germany will veto the whingers' application. Scotland then has to persuade Britain to squander political capital in Brussels baling the Scots out again: just as we had to bail them out in 1707)

So it's almost certain Scotland will still be in the UK in 2017. But why run the risk?

TheBigMan

Just in case other readers think the above drivel is a fact rather than one person's (and I'm being very polite here) opinion, this article presents a more balanced view of the pros and cons of the debate

http://www.scottishconstitutionalfut...eferendum.aspx

What isn't mentioned of course is the Coalition's proposal to have a referendum by 2017 on leaving the EU and, if successful based on right wing English votes, could result in voters based in Scotland being denied membership of the EU unless they vote for independence.
"Perpetual whingers" - given some of your contributions to this forum "Pot, kettle and black" spring to mind.