Encyclopedia of Us - Issue 3

US US

"CELEBRATE THE 'WARTS AND ALL’ AS EXAMPLES OF WHAT MAKES THIS AREA SO GOOD"

THIS NEWSPAPER REFLECTS THE GOODNESS AROUND HERE, WHICH VERY OFTEN IS IN OUR BLIND SPOT...

...WELL WE CAN ONLY SAY BRING IT ON! HERE THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE HIDDEN, BEHIND SCREENS, BEHIND CURTAINS, BEHIND NEEDLES, BEHIND BOTTLES WITH ALCOHOL, BEHIND BIG SMILES, OR POLITE WORDS. BUT THE REAL PEOPLE WITH THEIR GOODNESS IS HIDDEN, BECAUSE SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, SOMETIME, MADE THEM FEEL INSIGNIFICANT, NO ONES, EMPTY…LIKE A POTHOLE ON THE ROAD, OR A BROKEN STITCH ON A NICE DRESS, OR MOULD ON FAVOURITE FOOD...

HELLO AGAIN AND WELCOME ALL

This is the third issue of Encyclopedia of Us, which focuses on WHAT WE LOVE. EofUs is a newspaper like no other. What makes this newspaper so different? EofUs is written and produced by people living in HU3. We invite everyone to be part of it.

YOU

YOU

The map on the next page locates the source of the articles. Almost every article is accompanied by an invitation to act, be it a small act for you and your family to enjoy, or a bigger act that contributes to this community. These are called a You Can, so keep an eye out. Also you’ll also see signs for a You Did, and these show some of the things that happen because of the conversations, activities and connections that take place in the making of this paper.

Helping to do all this is...

Kate Genever. Some of you will have already met her… and others surely will. She has a knack of seeing what's hidden, interesting, challenging and beautiful and she is out and about on the streets. Three Ways East. An arts and culture company that provides the back up support and does the fundraising.

The Editorial Advisory Group [EAG]. This changes every time, to involve the people contributing to each paper. If you would like to join the EAG get in touch. You don’t have to have done anything like this before and we will find a way to make it work for you.

The EAG for this edition is:

Nelly Georgieva

Sue and Debbie

Wi, Phetcharat and Pailin

Pas

Lisa Grieg and the Chat and Choose crew

Milly

Adam, Jake and Scott

David Read

Scott

Anna Hembury

Thomas Robinson

Luke Beech

Innocence and Juliet

Tommy

Russel, Ross, Tony, Steve

George Norris

Daniel Meadows

Roger Crimlis

DD

Jimmy Featherstone

Mel

CAN THEM OUT AND PUT THEM UNDER THE LIGHT. WHAT A WONDERFUL THING

Ana and Lauren

Rachel Massey

Lynsey and Andy Mawer

Julian

Jacqui Cattle and Josh Williams

Kathryn and Malbys Team

Martin King

Liz Dorton

Shona

Mark, Sue and All the Dove House

volunteers

Alec Gill

Alex and FORM

Humber St Gallery Team

Caroline Gore-Booth

Joe Dent

Jacqui Marshall and Chiltern Primary students

Anouk DeBokx and The Boulevard

Academy Photography Students

Mrs English

Lucy Lyon and The News Hounds

Elijah Hembury

Kate Genever

Deborah Munt

Amanda Rigby

Kindly supported by: JF Brignall Charitable Trust

GET INVOLVED!

One way or another we want to hear from you... so whether you contact us or we find you... we look forward to meeting you

DID YOU CAN

»Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @EofUsHU3

»Email: hello@threewayseast.co.uk

»Don't do technology? Drop your thoughts and ideas via Giroscope, Coltman Street

DATA PROTECTION STATEMENT

Contributions of thoughts, ideas and creative works are always welcome and are accepted as being the original work of the person supplying them. If you are contributing things on behalf of someone else, or work created by someone else, please make sure you have their permission and let us know how they wish to be credited. We only record and process personal information in order to credit contributions to the EofUs and keep you up to date with the project (if you wish). We do not share any of your personal information with third parties without your permission.

Nelly Georgieva

BAKERY

34

YOU GOTTA LOVE A FAMILY

BUSINESS?

HU3 is full of them, big and small, here we find out more

36 SHUT UP

Luke Beech is an artist, educator and self-proclaimed introvert

37 HUMBER STREET GALLERY

EofUs supported locals to find out more about their area, its people and the city

38

WE ARE THE UNDERDOGS

We find out why Alec Gill has photographed HU3 since the early 80’s

39 MEET ME AT THE FOUNTAIN

The HU3 architecture tour

39 JOY RUMMAGE

On one of those hot summer days in 2022 a Joy Rummage, of musicians and puppets happened, want to know more?

39 ROVING EYE

Have you seen George Norris’ Roving Eye exhibition on the streets of HU3?

40 LOVE LETTER TO HU3

Read why Joe loves it so

T HE KIDS ' BIT

FOR KIDS

AGED 0 - 100

18 LOOK FOR THE SMALL THINGS

Look for the small things with The Boulevard Academy Year 8 and 9 photography students

20 WHAT DO WE LOVE?

Boulevard Newshounds share their research and favourite things and yes mostly its food!

We have some lovely FREE You Cans on offer in this issue. A huge thank you to the generosity of the HU3 people and businesses who have contributed. Here’s just a few. Why not join in?

FREE! Book by emailing hello@threewayseast. co.uk or message Kate on 07713 647 715

6 BASIC HOME ESSENTIALS

Led by Caroline at Giroscope, this workshop will help us get confident in how to bleed radiators, top up pressure on your boiler, change a plug fuse and learn about good health and safety in our homes.

»When: Wednesday Oct 4th at 4pm

»Where: Giroscope. Coltman Street

14 FLOWER CLUB

A FREE flower arranging club led by Tommy from Grahams the Florists and held at Rayners. It's been running all year so why not come and learn some skills using beautiful flowers.

»When: Friday Oct 6th at 4.30

»Where: Rayners Pub on Hessle Road

29 WALKING TOUR LED BY ARTIST TOM ROBINSON

The Aimless Archive, a project by Thomas Robinson, explored HU3 and their prompts offer a new way of looking

»When: Saturday Oct 7th at 2.30pm

»Where: Meet at the phone box on the corner of Coltman Street and Hessle Road

30 NEED TO DESTRESS?

22 DAILY NEWS

Chiltern Primary students tell us more about what they love

23 FUN BIT

Jokes and wordsearch

24 COLOURING IN Lucky the therapy dog poses for some colouring In

Join Mel from eMBe and EofUs for Auricular Therapy. This involves placing five small needles in the ear (doesn’t hurt) to help calm the body and mind, making us feel relaxed.

»When: Thursday 5th Oct 10 am for 1 hour. 7 places available

»Where: eMBe clinic. Louis Pearlman Centre

31 NATURE FIX

FREE memberships for anyone to join Nature Fixbringing nature indoors if you can’t get out. Lots of resources and invitations to connect with nature.

31 TIME SPENT ON YOURSELF IS NEVER WASTED

Join Ana and Lauren at Mixed Origins.

»When: Friday 15th September or 29th September 6pm

– 7:30pm

»Where: Lonsdale Community Centre

36

JOIN

LUKE BEECH AND EOFUS FOR A TOUR OF THE FERAL ART SCHOOL

Have a go at some making while there.

»When: Saturday Oct 7th 11am

»Where: Meet at Feral Art School Buildings, 22 Alfred Gelder St, Hull HU1 2BS

Anson Electronics is an independent, family-owned business, established in 1975 by Laurie and Barbara Anson, and now run by Sue and Debbie. EofUs met them to talk lighting, components and why shop cats are good for business.

"We believe our attention to customer service has always been the cornerstone of our success. Customers regularly tell us we’re an Aladdin’s Cave. We have products ranging from a tv bracket to amps, to megaphones and headphones." Does it feel significant to be two women running this business?

Debbie: I don’t really think about the fact we are two women running an electronics business. We were brought up in a family that strove to be the best. Both our parents worked hard to establish the business, it didn’t matter who was doing what, just that they were hard-working and got things right for the customers.

Sue: Yes it was male dominated, with customers often asking for the Boss and assuming us women were here for more menial tasks…but now attitudes have mostly changed. Younger men accept women can be in charge - they don’t even consider us odd. We even have female apprentice electricians coming in.

Debbie: What’s interesting is that we experience how men are more open to ask us things about stuff they don’t know. They know we will help rather than judge. So how did it all start?

Debbie: I always loved playing shops. Then as I got older I helped in the shop. Sue: I went to art school and then started working. I did the displays. I guess they needed our help.

Debbie: I guess they’ve given us a gift. A strange gift that sometimes feels like duty, but either way we now have a life doing this. There have been sad times and challenges. Business changes as

INDEPENDENT

society does and things develop, but you keep going, you learn to be adaptive. And listen to your customers.

Sue: We only had half a day off for our Dad's funeral. We opened the shop the morning before! Can you believe it?

Debbie: Dad started because Mum encouraged him. She was a force of nature. They set up on their own when we were young. They wanted to be independent. She was also from a family of self-employed business people and because she was a woman, she didn’t get a look in. I bet she thought ‘I’ll show you!’. She was always proud of us – she talked about how “we girls” had done it. I guess in many ways it was a women’s business as much as me Dads, although he was at the front.

Sue: He started this in an old air raid shelter in Hessle, with his own van. He went all over selling components. Then they moved into a shop on Hull Road, then here.

Debbie: It’s been so different over the years but we’ve managed to keep finding a niche. Back in the day we mended TVs, then stuff was just replaced and now people want to try and repair things. We are seeing people coming in to buy bits to fix things. We try to help people get what they need.

Sue: If you think, what we offer is based on 90 years of collective experience!

Debbie: Oh god that makes us sound ancient! People come in because we’ve been recommended; we get so much custom via word of mouth. We are a specialist shop.

What business advice would you offer other people?

Sue: We listen to our intuition and our gut – I don’t suppose that’s taught at business school! We feel things, feel the right thing to do. People know this and often we are like their therapist.

Debbie: I have done business courses but, here we are generous, and together. Sue and I complement each other's skills. We have the same values and an understanding. We work collaboratively. Oh and we have a warped sense of humour.

You are an independent women led business in HU3?

Debbie: Yes it's good isn’t it. We like the freedom to work for ourselves and be our own boss.

Sue: We feel lucky to be able to have that freedom, but it’s hard work. What does the future hold?

Debbie: I run the shop and do the orders and serve customers. I would love to encourage young people in the area to set up small businesses.

Sue: Ever since we were young we’ve worked in this business. In many ways there wasn’t really a choice. It's meant we haven’t had holidays! The business always comes first. So closing on Mondays since Covid is a change. Covid helped us see how we could take some more time.

Debbie: I am still really interested in what we do. I want to keep working but our families don’t want to take it on, so we are thinking…it’s such a good family business. It would be so great if another family would eventually take it on. But for now we are just going to keep as we are, with the help of Mr Boots, the

I DO WHAT I WANTED TO DO!

I’m the third generation joiner in my family. I followed my Dad and Grandad into this male dominated trade by volunteering at Giroscope. I loved the experience, learning on the job and being part of the team, with Caroline and Hannah onsite too. Then Stu from Beagles Joinery said "I’m interested in the quality of your work, I don’t

care who or what you are." I got a chance to become his apprentice. I reckon female joiners are good and important. Customers say how great it is to see what I’m doing and that ‘we don’t see many women.’ Women should do what they want, but often can’t. One of my brothers says he’s more of a girl than me!

ANSON ELECTRONICS

»167-183 Boulevard, Hull HU3 3EJ

»01482 323422

»Open weekdays 10 - 3. Saturdays 10 - 12

»ansonelectronics.co.uk

With Stu I’ve learnt a lot. He doesn’t mind if I make a mistake, he shows me until I get it. He pushes me to try and says, “You can do it”. Stu helps but is not patronising.

“When I saw Milly I thought she wants to do this, she’s a female and that means she wants to do it more. I can teach skill but I can’t teach want. The hardest thing to find in anyone is the want.” Stu from Beagle Joinery.

A spotlight on HU3 women leading the way in a business they are passionate about.

INDEPENDENT IN EVERY WAY

Coconut Café is perhaps, at first glance, a strange combination. Serving traditional British breakfasts from 8am alongside the “best freshest, tastiest Thai food” from 11am. But the 5-star reviews, the returning customers and the busy kitchen reveal a winning formula. EofUs wanted to find out more…and of course try the deliciousness too.

Wi Phenkhae Eunson and her daughters

Phetcharat and Pailin Nguasonboonthree are the three hardworking women who founded the cafe in 2019, just before Covid hit.

Wi, came to Hull from Southern Thailand in 2006. She laughs at how, on arriving, the shock of the cold, the people and food led her to pray to Buddha for rice. "I was used to eating rice every day.… I was so confused and hungry. But my prayer was answered, I met a Thai woman in Beverley, who cooked me rice and saved me! She told me where to go shopping!"

Wi knew her English needed to be better, so she took a job cleaning and enrolled in English classes. "I then started working in a Thai restaurant and doing Thai massage. I love cooking so I used to cook and sell curries… I had no money and no language so knew I had to embrace the Thai’s ability to work hard. Also I wanted to bring my daughters over. In order to stay, you have to pass tests and know about British history. I learnt all this to be here."

It must have been so hard?

"I really regret that I left my daughters behind while I did this life. I brought my daughters over when they were 13 and 11. I enrolled them in school, they didn’t have good English, but the school was amazing and gave them lots of support. After leaving school they worked in Thai restaurants part time. Lots of Thai kitchens and restaurants are run by women - men often don’t work as chefs."

Phetcharat went on to study fashion

"Cooking and clothes, both are creative. I like working in our café, I’m sure my ambition is probably to be here. Pailin would like to eventually work for the airlines and travel."

You are truly international womenbut how does it feel to be part of two cultures?

"When we go Home to Thailand, it feels different and difficult at first, like when I come back here it’s strange at first. But

you adapt and get used to things. Well apart from its hot and nice there!’' Do you like working with your daughters?

"Yes of course it’s nice. It’s better than working for someone else. We like the freedom of no one telling us what to do. But there is more responsibility and you get very tired. I worked 17 hour a day for years. In the café and then doing the shopping for next day. David, my partner, comes in and does breakfasts. He’s good at them. It's non-stop. We have to work fast, Thai food is fast too. When we started we did just deliveries – but couldn’t find address, we got lost. But we got better. Now we don’t do deliveries because we are busy but people can still take away. We don’t do social media or much promotion, it’s all come via word of mouth."

What advice would you give other people wanting to start a business?

"Do lots of research - watch what people want to eat and where and at what time. Here there was already breakfast café and we thought we could add Thai food." Wi you must be so proud of what you have achieved since 2006?

"Yes we would like to have another place. We have been looking. But I also can imagine going home as well, the more

I also go to college, but it's better on site. You learn about the attitude to work, showing up, being on time and meeting clients. Because I’m dyslexic I need to see and watch, and when something goes wrong I need to see it to work it out.

I love fitting doors! You have to look at a problem, the shape and then adapt. It’s all problem solving. I love working with a problem. It feels quite

nice to see it done to a good standard and I feel proud I’ve managed it by myself.

I’ve passed level 1 and 2 Joinery at Hull college of building and am now doing Level 3 – Advanced. There is one other girl in my class of 25-30 people. I feel positive and see myself in the future and that’s important. I didn’t think about my future or where I’d be, I couldn’t see myself anywhere,

but now my ambition is to work by myself. I also want to build my own house. That would be amazing.

Milly Dervey

Milly was awarded Hull Colleges 2023 Apprentice of the Year in February.

HOME ESSENTIALS WORKSHOP

Get confident in bleeding radiators, topping up boiler pressure and more.

»When: Wednesday Oct 4th at 4pm

»Where: Giroscope. Coltman Street

»Book: email hello@threewayseast.co.uk or message Kate on 07713 647 715

YOU DID

BREAD MAKING WITH PATRICK

Hello I’m Pas. I relocated from Thailand to Hull. I work at Reckitts, producing healthcare products. Outside work I’m like anyone else. I love exploring the city, meeting new people, and learning new things - especially in a non-digital environment which is challenging to find these days.

I’m glad I came across EofUs at Form Shop & Studio on Humber Street. The newspaper has loads of interesting independent store and workshop recommendations and the “Bread Workshop” caught my eye. I’ve never been successful with bread making and I had hopes of not wasting another yeast pack with my failed bakes!. Yes I did learn how to not kill yeast, but also SO MUCH MORE!

The workshop was held at “The Artisan at Home”. Patrick the baker was so kind to open his bakery to us. It was an amazing experience to be making inside the kitchen that supplies so many goodies.

Patrick taught us how to make Focaccia and White Loaf by hand kneading. The experience taught me how to manage time, to bake several recipes in parallel while waiting for one bread to rise. To not overuse kitchen tools – which was always the case for me. And how to visually observe and feel if the dough is ready. And what adjustment to do if it isn’t. Things online recipes weren't able to teach me.

Besides the valuable learning and getting my hands messy with the dough, I met other lovely ladies, as we shared our common interest in “bread”. Back home in Thailand, rice is our main meal – well not just plain rice of course. We have lots of rice dish combinations, “Pad Krapow” is one of our favourite dishes to eat with rice and fried egg. But when it comes to bread, we have much fewer options. Even so, I think we’re quite creative on how we eat ordinary white bread. We like to either toast or steam it and have it with “pandan coconut custard”. A must try Thai dessert. I love how we can travel the world and learn different cultures through simple topics like bread. At the end of the bread making workshop, we got two huge beautiful breads to carry home. I shared the Loaf with my friends who said it was “a beauty – spongy, soft and tasty”. Happiness is always better when shared. Pas

FOOD FOR THOUGHT WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Over the last six months EofUs held three Food for Thought events, with open invites to anyone interested in food, its sustainability and fair access to it. A fine gathering of groups, organisations and residents did exactly what it said on the tin. This is a conversation capture from the second event.

‘"I would watch, rapt, when my mother conjured her most magical dishes" Michael Pollan, Cooked Today the disconnection from old skills and wisdoms has led to a state where cooking, baking and growing our food is so mysterious that it seems inaccessible. Or hard work.

Oscar works his magic, breaking down the mystery for young adults, with weekly cooking classes. People attend for all kinds of reasons, learning new skills, yes, but also learning that to fail is ok, because that’s part of learning to master something and open up to new horizons.

But not everyone wants to learn to cook. Not everyone has the time or money, or is motivated by the idea of good food or nutrition. We might not have had these things in the past either, but back then we had less choice. Now the ‘unhealthy’ choice, which only becomes a ‘problem’ if it is a choice that we make all the time…is easy when we are exhausted, pushed for time and not that interested. So ‘easy’ is something to consider.

But so is the reward of effort. A sense of joy, satisfaction and achievement from within, from ‘doing’, can often be far more powerful. That sense of reward can feel wonderful and so that is what we become motivated by.

But we should bear in mind that when there is low self-esteem in some parts of our community…a handy state for keeping people in their place…it can be difficult to accept things that feel good. Positive emotions can be as uncomfortable for some as negative ones are for others. Which might be part of why so many of us are simply accepting of what is, without demanding more than just getting by.

So motivation is important. Recognising that we are all motivated by different things may be important. But so is an understanding that we can make all the offers we want, but not everyone will be able to take them up, unless we take account of deep rooted and hidden barriers. And hidden voices. Though not hidden. Not actively hiding. Just not always visible in the places we are used to looking. Less visible but not less important. We must look harder and move ourselves towards where others are.

And what is visible? The millions shovelled into marketing the feel good of sugary drinks and treats. Leading our society to a point of addiction, where for those who aim for another way, the kindness of strangers in the form of a

lolly for a child, becomes bittersweet. Once it was a treat, but now it’s pedalled everywhere. Balance is harder to achieve.

And for some ‘balance’ is an out of reach luxury. Being poor is the hard work for which there is rarely reward. So, what’s to be done? Should stuff be free? Should some people pay more than others? Is an exchange ok? What are the ethics? It’s messy… and complex.

But then there is the magic of raspberries. The tasting of tomatoes, the pleasure of picking from the plant. For those who can see it…and get access to it, of course.

But blimey, yes HU3, we do have some deficits, but we also have an awful lot too. And what more could it be with the right kind of agile infrastructure and a couple of heaped tablespoons of ambition…or is it courage? We have a Co-op of bicycles to deliver the goodness. Spaces to grow food and wellbeing. Experts who can teach us how to grow, cook, fail and succeed. Organisations supporting young adults and adults who need extra support, to cater for its community. People who can offer business support to new food ventures to gain new skills and confidence. Teachers who can shape the minds and open up the worlds of young generations. Bakers, producing delights with quality ingredients, goodness and care, baked in. A high street bursting with shops with international food offers…just waiting to be travelled. Diversity. Knowledge. Experience. Compassion. Care.

We have a bunch of passionate people who want more and better flourishing in HU3. Forgive the pun but it seems like we have a lot of the right ingredients. So…what’s a bunch of passionate people interested in a flourishing HU3 to do?

At the third event we decided that a food festival, with activism for change at its heart, could be a good way to collectivise our efforts and put down some foundations for connected, more ambitious working. So we’re working with others to make that happen. But if it were you, what would you do?

COOK & SHARE

What’s not to love about travelling the world through food, right here in HU3?

On the way back from an EofUs visit to Humber St Gallery, the Chiltern Primary School Chat and Choose group had a great conversation about sharing food. A few months on and the first Cook and Share brought together a large group of parents and their amazing cooking skills, to celebrate cultural cuisine through the making, and of course eating, of favourite family foods.

This popular and busy event, made possible by Lisa Grieg’s legendary organising skills, meant those attending got to try Attila’s Hungarian Poppy Seed Bread and Lynn’s Noodles, as well as Jade and David’s Chocolate Cake and Brownies. The group has an ambition to hold further gatherings where more national dishes are shared and also create a Cookbook so we can all try some of the deliciousness.

EofUs asked the group what they thought:

Alice: I didn’t cook but I came to the sharing, it was beautiful - Lynn’s noodles with green peppers was amazing. Next time I will make Congolese fresh food. It was a nice time, to talk , good to try things and enjoy food. Also gives me ideas of food to make.

Jade: We made Chocolate Fudge Brownies and Chocolate Cake. We made it together and tried hard to make it good. Next time I’m going to make Fish Pie, that’s my favourite.

RECIPES

INJERA FLATBREAD

INGREDIENTS

750g plain flour

250g buckwheat flour

2 tbsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 litre water

250g white vinegar

Oil for pan

YOU

DID

David: We tried everything, it was great to try. Lynn’s noodles were amazing! I liked tasting different cultures' foods. We try foods from different countries but this was homemade so it was different. We we know more people now and have got more new friends.

Zeynab: My best dish is Lasagne. I love to eat and talk about making it a lot. But a Somalian dish - Byriani - not too spicy, everyone loves this in my community. I cook it for weddings and get asked to make it a lot. It goes well with a lamb dish I also make in the oven.

Maryann: Next time I will make Injera. It’s beautiful to eat for breakfast or good with meat soup. You take flour, maize flour, a little sugar, here in UK yeast, and salt. Mix together with water and then roll out like flat breads to cook on a hot plate. For breakfast it's delicious with honey and tea... Every country has its own breads like this.

TRY THE RECIPES

See below to try for yourself. Recipe book coming soon

CAN

Injera is made as large pancakes. Use any good non stick skillet you have. Mix both types of flour, salt, and baking soda together. Whisk in the water until smooth. Then add the vinegar and whisk.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour oil on a paper towel and wipe the skillet with the oiled paper towel to create a thin coating.

Using a scoop, pour batter into the skillet creating a 6-inch circle. Carefully swirl the pan around to thin out the batter until it measures 8 to 9 inches across.

Cook for 1 minute, then using a large spatula, flip the Injera over and cook another minute. Remove from the skillet and stack on a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Once finished cooking the Injera, cut the circles in half, roll into tubes and stack. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Alexandra: We made and brought Attila’s Beigli. It’s a traditional Hungarian food that’s a bit like a cake and bread and cookie... a mix not too sweet. It's nice, it's full of poppy seeds. Attila is the chef, he loves to cook... I would love to teach people more about Hungarian food. I also like that we came and got ideas for food to make – sometimes we think, Oh no not food again!

BEIGLI ROLL

DOUGH

500g plain flour

100g unsalted butter

100g lard

1 tsp sugar

50g icing sugar

2 eggs

15g fresh yeast

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon zest

Pinch of salt

POPPY SEED FILLING

250g poppy seeds ground

1/2 cup milk

1 cup icing sugar

2 tbsp raisins optional

1 tsp lemon zest

1 egg

Dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar in the lukewarm milk, then add the yeast, wait a few minutes until it blooms.

Mix the flour with the butter and lard by hand. The mixture will be quite crumbly.

Add eggs, sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla sugar, lemon zest and the yeast/milk mixture. Knead thoroughly.

Divide the dough into 4 balls, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Poppy seed filling: Heat milk with the sugar, bring it to a boil. Take off the heat, add poppy seeds, raisins and lemon zest. Mix well and let cool completely.

Heat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Line a pan with parchment paper.

On a floured surface roll out each piece of the dough into a rectangle.

Spread poppy seed filling on the dough, leaving approx. 1/2 inch empty edges on each side, and roll up lengthwise. Make sure it is not too tight and not too loose. Carefully transfer the rolls onto the baking sheet.

Egg wash: Separate egg, set egg whites aside. Gently whisk egg yolk and brush rolls. Leave to dry (30 mins). Brush on egg white, let dry in a cool place, if possible not in the fridge.

Prick top with a skewer, making sure it goes all the way through to allow vapor to escape. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Keep in a cool, dry place and slice only before serving.

The Giroscope Bike Project returns unwanted or unused bikes back to good use in the local community, while offering people the chance to get involved in bike repair and maintenance. The volunteers get the chance to learn a useful skill set, gain confidence and real world work experience. Curious? EofUs cycled along to find out more…

ADAM

I've been here 6 years leading this project. I love how Giroscope are interested in a mutually beneficial exchange between them and the volunteers. They are ultimately interested in the distance volunteers travel and not about selling bikes – although that’s good too. We repair, reflect, refurb, recycle and then resell… anything with a re…which means you better add rejuvenate too!

I am genuinely proud to work for Giroscope. They respond to need. It’s not about bikes but supporting the whole person. They don’t need to make a profit but if they do, they then reinvest for the good of people. Amazing.

You have spoken before about a lack of support for men around mental health?

Yes, that’s true, but men are told that asking for help is not manly and men are therefore crap at asking for help. The bike project is a source of support. We work shoulder to shoulder. We are here to fix bikes and through doing that conversations happen. It's not "let's talk" and fix bikes second. It’s a hands-on activity and that lets us open up about problems.

Our place creates lots of laughs and a supportive environment. We teach things that people need in work, relationships etc. People sometimes don’t have anything…no pride…and that’s what we want for them. But we are not a destination, we don’t aim to have people here forever… it’s a place people can move through in their own time. Moving forward and yes, if they leave and then need to come back, we welcome them. We know life is complicated.

The bikes come from donations, some from house clearances and some we divert from scrap. This means after we’ve done them up, and checked and cleaned them, we can sell them for a good price. And people can then afford a good bike and have fun and get fit. It means that the bike project is part of neighbourhood renewal.

We have volunteers who do 1 day or 4/5 days. Each arrives in different states and for different reasons. Mostly they come via Giroscope. We have had GP’s and ex-prisoners – people who want to give something back, and some who need purpose and focus. People arrive and we get them started. They disassemble bikes, get to know where stuff lives and how things work. Then we progress.

SCOTT

I came in, not in a good state. I’d survived suicide and had nothing to look forward to. But a little part of me thought give it a go. I had nothing to lose. I think it's good to learn a skill while you're not well. And while doing that you get to meet people. The bike project made me feel like I was needed and worth something. Don’t get me wrong I still have thoughts, I’ve got voices that tell me I’m not needed. But talking to the boys keeps me going. I’ve built an electric bike, a good frame, repainted, added an extra-long seat using an old skateboard so you can give someone a ride. It’s got home made shocks on and I’m telling you, you won’t see another like it. I go miles, it's great. Our bikes at the project are like people that have been discarded and no one cares…their life has ended and they are in the scrap. But we see things differently, we see they can be saved like a soul. Everyone’s different, each has a story and each one is a unique ride. They’ve been through things and we resurrect them. We put them back on the road and give them a second life. I’m proud to help.

I had a breakdown and attacked a police officer. My inner “Red Guy” came from nowhere. I was put in prison. That caused me to realise how important this project was. Giroscope supported me. Marie, my worker supported me. I had no strength to cope but Giroscope rallied round and said they would shut the project if I didn’t come back. It showed me I was worth something. In all I’ve tried to commit suicide five times. The Bike Project is great, but now I’m also involved in Andy’s Mans Club. I go to the one at Airco off Hessle Road. I got involved after a man came in with a bike that needed fixing and talked about the Club. I thought I’d never get through the door. I felt there was too much judgement, I was an idiot, nasty, and no one would want me. Neil, that man, took me the first time. Walking in with him was massive. It was so powerful. I just sat and listened. You don’t have to talk, you can just listen. When you’re ready you can speak. I spoke at the second session. I wasn’t judged and people related to what I went through - I was welcomed into the brotherhood. They are so friendly. I thought I was the only one who suffered, but by talking I saw so many people in the same boat. At the end we were all hugging. I have got so many friends now. We don’t leave a brother behind... that’s our saying. If one of us has got something going on we all go through it. We talk of not being ashamed of our problems. I now take others through those doors. I pass the baton on.

OUR BIKES... ARE LIKE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN DISCARDED AND NO ONE CARES...THEIR LIFE HAS ENDED AND THEY ARE IN THE SCRAP. BUT WE SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY, WE SEE THEY CAN BE SAVED LIKE A SOUL.

Shame is massive, we try to get past shame. I don’t read and write, I’m really badly dyslexic. I have a lot of shame about this. At school I was always causing problems to get around not being able to read and write and so they told me I was a nasty boy or bad child. I guess I acted out to get away from school. I had ADHD and they knew that. They made me think I was a bad person.

I once talked a man down off a bridge, the police asked me to do it because the negotiator wasn’t making any difference. I have experience and empathy and I saved a man’s life because of that. The negotiator didn’t know, really, what it was like to have nothing to live for. I told the man there are other options. It is powerful to know I did something that many would not or could not have done. I’ve been through this and so I stepped in. People say I’m amazing, but it’s hard to hear your inspirational. I feel humble that people don’t want to take their lives because I’ve helped them or talked to them or shown a different way.

JAKE

I’ve volunteered for 4.5 years. I have anxiety and was nervous to meet people. When I first came I wouldn’t get out of the car. But now I’m here talking to you and I like talking to people. I’m proud of myself. I love bikes and making them. I was a BMX kid then I fell and broke my wrist and leg, so that was it for me. I now go mountain biking - I’ve built me own bike. My ambition is to keep working here! On the board in the office they put our name on the days we are due in. But I come in on my days off.

“Jake’s a skilled rider. He is also really good at building wheels, he can see patterns and this means he’s really good at it. We notice what people are good at and build on that”.

Adam

YOU CAN

ANDYS MAN CLUB

The club takes its name from Andrew Roberts, a man who sadly took his own life aged 23 in early 2016. Andy’s family had no inkling that he was suffering or struggling to the extent that he would do this, and as a result looked deeper into male suicide and men’s mental health.

They soon discovered that male suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50. As a result the family came up with the idea of ANDYS MAN CLUB. Free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups across the United Kingdom and online. Their ambition is to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and help men through the power of conversation.

»Fb: Hullandysmanclub

»Insta: @itsoktototalk

»andysmanclub.co.uk

FIX IT

Get your bike repaired, buy a second hand bike, or donate unused/broken bikes

»Fb: Giroscope Hull

»Insta: @giroscope_hull

DIFFERENTLY THINGSWESEE

»giroscope.org.uk

I AM WHO I AM!

In the beginning

When I was born, as well as Phocomelia, I also had a dislocated right hip. An orthopaedic consultant said he would have me on my feet within 3 years. I was in a full body cast, with a hole cut in the front and back, and in hospital for 18 months. It was the first of many operations - I stopped counting once I reached 25.

Schooling

When I was 3, I was sent to a boarding school in Sussex with over 50 Thalidomide kids and over 400 pupils. I went home three times a year. My happiest times were at school and if any of my old school friends rang me today, and needed some help, I would just go.

I have never blamed my mother for my disability as she was prescribed the drug Thalidomide to help with morning sickness. But I never really had a good relationship with my parents. My true family was at school as we all understood and knew what it was like to be disabled.

my mouth, as you are closer to the canvas and can do more detail. I really like having a blank canvas, getting an idea of what to do, then starting. I use a standard brush but put a pen lid on the end, or else the paint brushes get soggy. I paint anything that takes my fancy, winter motifs, Christmas motifs, spring motifs, anything. I love doing snow - you can cover a lot of mistakes with snow! I sometimes work from photos.

I send my paintings to the MFPA who turn them into cards to sell. I am a ‘student artist’ and my painting skills are reassessed every 3 years. They pay me a grant every year from the sales of the works. I have to send a minimum of 5 paintings a year, but I send more. I discuss what I might paint with my tutor Steve, and his wife Helen. It can be hard when I’m learning something new, but if you don’t try anything then things will be hard. My woodwork teacher at Chailey Heritage always said “Nothing is impossible” – well to a certain extent he was right!

How people can do better

Call the Midwife did two episodes about the Thalidomide effect. They contacted the Thalidomide Society, asked us about our lives and experiences and they really hit the nail on the head. The best route to understanding us is by (a) talking to us and (b) asking us questions. Don’t do that thing where you ask the abled person -does he or she take sugar in their tea? Spit your question out

You can’t get angry with your past, you can’t change it. I get on with my life. I have accepted I’ve got a disability and I’ve got to ask if I need help. I am who I am! I am living my life as I want to live it and if they

So if I can do it, you can do it. If you have a disability, one of the most important things is that you must accept it. Then life will be easier. You are

I AM LIVING MY LIFE AS

FIND OUT MORE

»See David’s work: mfpa.co.uk/the-artists/artist/david-read

»The British Partnership of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists: Currently supports 33 British artists and almost 800 artists worldwide whose work is produced with brushes held by their teeth or clenched between their toes. The MFPA is run by the artists and reproduces their original paintings, providing vital, financial security. www.mfpa.co.uk

»Wobble and Rock: Hull based organisation showcasing inspiring and innovative talent from the disabled community www.Waro.co.uk @Wobbleandrock

»Thalidomide Society: thalidomidesociety.org

»David’s school: www.chf.org.uk

SOPHIE’S UPDATE

Sophie, since the first issue, where we featured a letter you wrote to your younger self alongside the advice you’d offer her, lots more amazing things have happened. Can you tell us more?

Back then I was getting on well, I was starting to see I was the author of my own destiny after finally leaving an abusive relationship. I was going to the gym at Vulcan and being supported by Giroscope, my self confidence was growing. I was also applying to go to college.

Now “I'm thriving, not just surviving!” My life has developed so much. I enrolled into Hull College in September 2021 and completed with almost full distinctions. Throughout that time, I applied to Hull University, being offered a place to study psychology. I am just finishing my first year. I continue to engage with Giroscope and Vulcan, along with representing them through charity fundraising – which I never thought I would have the confidence to do in a million years! Both are amazing. I would not be here without their support and belief in me!

Although college was an amazing experience, it was also a difficult road, not just academically but due to diagnoses of combined type ADHD and Dyslexia. Being 27 and receiving a diagnosis of ADHD was difficult at first, going through the assessments and understanding what ADHD is, left me questioning who I was, and how it was missed for so long. I kept asking “does this change who I am!” After spending so much time in the past figuring out my identity, after being in an abusive domestic relationship, I thought I had that sussed. But I began to question that again. After this period of uncertainty I realised it does not change who I am, it simply explains my little quirks! Whilst at college I represented my course through our Student Voice meetings, a space in which we could air issues and suggestions on behalf of our classmates and their college experience. The skills I have gained through my continued work with Vulcan and Giroscope enabled me to have the confidence to air suggestions which will improve student support.

So, what does the future look like for Sophie? I am continuing to work with Vulcan and Giroscope to gain work experience in the services they provide, to support me whilst studying. But on my degree I plan to specialise in the clinical modules in my third year and then apply for a clinical fast-track doctorate after completing the degree. Amazing hey?

WHOLEHEARTED

How can we live differently, resist being reduced to defining ourselves only as individuals, measuring our worth only by what we can do or get done, exhausting ourselves with the daily grind of keeping all the necessary plates spinning? We can stop, come together, create a sanctuary of colour, rest and connectedness, remember who we are and how we are. We can re-discover how to live together wholeheartedly.

So, on an ordinary day last November, the Orts collective made space for extraordinary. Under endless bunting and beautiful sari drapes in St Matthews Parish Hall, fuelled by exotic scents and a generous table of amazing food, we ditched shop-bought “self-care” and opted instead for a mini festival of wholeheartedness. Key elements included: creativity with sari-lamp making (thanks Liz), crochet (thanks Jodie) and bag-making (thanks Kate) resting with stillness and a sound-bath (thanks Ana & Lauren); dancing (thanks Irene); wondering together in a Deep Talk story (thanks Liane) and feasting (thanks to everyone’s loving and generous contributions).

I think the wording on the cape that Kate wore - Love is the answer - was so powerful. It spoke of what the space was about, women coming together and being able to be in a space free from their burdens or to un-burden themselves for a time while they were there. I loved dancing together, it felt so good to dance freely with other women, to smile and laugh and move our bodies, so good for our wellbeing. I heard someone say, “when was the last time that this many women took this much time out for themselves?!” And “It was so important to have this opportunity, to nourish one another with good food and good conversation, with love and to allow some level of healing and restoration to take place before we had to take up our burdens again.

Anna Hembury

EofUs supported the Orts love-in with a bag and patch making workshop. Our “IwHU3” bags inspired many to create their own. Working with Orts beautiful fabrics women decided on a shape and saying that suited before taking to sewing machines, hand stitch and embellishment to complete mighty fine shoppers.

JOIN

YOU CAN

Orts Thursday mornings. 10.30 onwards. St Mathew Parish Hall. Boulevard WATCH

Brene Brown talk about Whole Heartedness on Youtube

BUY A BAG

To purchase a IwHU3 tote just get in touch. Each one is sold based on “pay what you can afford” and all profits after costs go to HU3 women’s charities

YUM YAM FESTIVAL

In Nigeria, for the Igbo people, the Yam is a food staple not unlike the potato in the UK. With a New Yam or Iri ji festival held every August. This annual celebration symbolises the end of harvest and the beginning of the next work cycle. Importantly it brings individual Igbo communities together to celebrate the Yam as The King of the Crops.

Hull has its own August Yam festival, held at the city hall, where up to 300 Igbo people gather for food, dancing and the wearing of traditional clothing.

Innocent and his wife Juliet, owners of This Place Mini Store on Hessle Road, with their children are part of Hull’s Igbo community. They join the festival every year. Innocent is proudly considered an Elder because he works hard for the community and is industrious, helping people when they need it, making his contribution at the celebrations important. He wears specific clothing, featuring a lion head patterned jacket, while also leading drumming and men’s dances. "We use that festival to thank God for providing a bountiful harvest. It’s important that we express our faith and culture."

Juliet says: "The whole community looks forward to this festival, with preparations taking weeks. People cook our native food in big pots and we all bring our own spoon and plate and share and eat together. Yes it's about the Yam but also about portraying to our children our culture. We teach them and transfer knowledge so that when they grow up things will continue. We get to meet family and feel connected which is important as it lets us keep bonds. Women wear their best outfits – Isi Agu - which are often made and then sent specially from Nigeria for the festival. Children learn dances and have special costumes. We talk and dance and share."

Innocence knows "Our customers also love to eat Yam, you may as well shut the door if you don't have any in stock." Irador a customer agrees "I love Boiled yam with hot pepper soup and a side dish of palm oil for dipping the Yam in."

SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

Flowers have the capacity to heal, celebrate and bring joy. But who knew beyond love and red roses they all have secret meanings used to send coded messages? For seven women this was the starting point of the first Flower Club led by master florist Tommy from Grahams the Florists. Tommy told us he thinks anyone can do anything. So with this ambition in mind, given all of us were novices, we took him up on the offer.

In the shop, amongst the beautiful smell and colour, he demonstrated how to select and prepare the stems before slowly gathering them up and slowly rotating them to build the bouquet. We also learnt important rules including how three flowers look better than four and how to think in triangles. After the demo we carried buckets full of blooms across the road to Rayners where, fuelled by tea, cake and encouragement, we tried our best. We chose flowers based on their meanings and tried to do as we’d been shown. Fortunately Tommy arrived in the nick of time to help and show his support. Giving us more top tips and celebrating our efforts.

Leaving with new friends made, old one’s remembered and arms filled with bouquets, we all felt the power of flowers, carrot cake and trying something new…

JOIN FLOWER CLUB

»Where: Rayners, 325 Hessle Road, Kingston upon Hull

»When: Friday Oct 6th at 4.30

»Book: Message Kate on 07713 647 715

Supported by City Health Care Partnerships

YOU CAN

"WE ALL

HU3 is full of remarkable people. This is not flattery. It is a place where character, personality and identity has been forged in the heat of lives hard lived and, in a mindset that is more welcoming of difference than most places. This is the case historically, and still now. In the last issue of EofUs our spotlight was on photographer George Norris, who is born and bred in HU3 and has been documenting HU3 people for the last 15 years. The research with George uncovered a much deeper and wider seam of photography in the history of HU3, than we would have ever imagined. Alec Gill and his Hessle Road photography features on Page 38 but in this spotlight piece we take a look at 5 loosely connected photographers who were all interested in what they could capture of Hull in 250th of a second.

»Continues page 26

HU3 IN 250TH OF A SECOND

STEVE CONLAN

"HULL HAD SOMETHING OF A REPUTATION FOR BEING A BIT NAUGHTY, ON THE EDGE"

T HE KIDS ' BIT

LOOK FOR THE SMALL

WE WENT AROUND SCHOOL FINDING BEAUTIFUL TEXTURES, PATTERNS, COLOURS ETC. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE FOUND LOTS OF BEAUTY IN THE ORDINARY!

THINGS

Yr.8 students at The Boulevard Academy were inspired by a photography workshop led by George Norris. He told them - “find the ordinary everyday thing that captures your imagination – if it interests you it will interest others”. They've been looking for the beauty in the everyday around them in school during their photography lessons. They’ve selected some of their images for us to enjoy.

WHAT DO WE LOVE?

When The Boulevard Academy Newshounds sat around a table in the library and started thinking about “Things I love”, it didn’t take long until we realised the discussion was mostly going in one direction and one direction only: Food.

We are lucky enough to have lots of students and teachers from all over the world at Boulevard and as we continued talking, we started hearing about fascinating dishes that people were nominating as their favourites. It soon became clear that food represents so much more than the taste: beloved family memories were discussed, tales of togetherness emerged and the pure joy of sitting round a table – or eating fish and chips in the rain – put smiles on all our faces. We decided that we would get a snapshot of everyone’s favourite food at The Boulevard Academy. And these are the results of our work.

ITALY

I was born in Italy in a city called Vicenza. It is in the north of italy. I love that people who come in bring bits of their culture to the city so if you go to the city centre sometimes you might see shops selling things from other countries. When I used to live in a town in Italy called Pollege I lived in a very calm and quiet neighbourhood, if you couldn't afford getting a meal for the month this person would kind of be assigned to you and she would give a bag of food. My school was a primary and secondary school and it was in an area where there was a local park and nursery next to it. Every year on Christmas my whole year would learn a song and on Christmas day we would all wear matching red jumper or shirt with Christmas hats then with a big crowd in church after the performance we would take pictures and drink hot chocolate. Daniele (Yr. 8)

JOLLOF RICE

My Favourite food is Jollof Rice,it tastes so good. I eat Jollof Rice during special occasions like Christmas, Easter and during birthdays. The delicious, mouthwatering taste of Jollof Rice is the best food I have ever had and I can never be tired of eating it. I like to eat it with chicken because it is delectable, scrumptious and yummy. I prefer my Mum's jollof rice better because it tastes so awesome.

Mofiyin (Yr.8)

BURGERS

I love my Grandmother burgers because they are full of flavour so I look forward to going there on the weekends and I eat them with ketchup. I love to eat them and that's all I eat on the weekend so that's what I eat all the time but I eat them straight away. How long they take and the recipe is secret, but she includes Bread Buns, Ketchup, Onions, Lettuce and Sausage(to make the burger). Then the rest is a secret but I know the secret but i will not tell you.

Macaulay-Kai (Yr.8)

THE PLANETS

I love the planets in our solar system and this is because there is so many which we can not go to due to their different temperatures. For example Venus is the hottest planet and we are unable to go and the coldest planet is Uranus, which is a growing gas planet which is slowly getting bigger. The planets are examples of how everyone is different and really interesting and they all have different reasons we can't go on the visit. Kelsi (Yr.8)

POLAND

The thing I love the most is Poland because I was born there and most of my family live there. Poland also was where I spent a few years. Even though cigarettes aren't healthy, the smell of them reminds me of Poland since all my relatives smoke and it always smells like them there. Poland is also filled with forests and fields. For example, my grandma owns a field where she grows food like vegetables. As well as cigarettes, fresh air almost reminds me of Poland because of the fields and because I lived in a place where my house was surrounded with a forest except for a front garden. When my family lived in that house we would go to the forest and collect berries, but there were Wolves and Bears so we never went far into the forest. However we would make tea out of them. It was also where my sister was born. Unfortunately my family moved a lot, I think it's because we were very poor and we didn't live in good conditions.

Julia (Yr.8)

FOOD QUIZ

See our answers, but what would you choose?

Which do you prefer?

Sunday dinner

Fish & chips

Which is tastiest?

Candy floss

Brandy snap

Which junk food tastes best?

Pizza Burger

NIGERIA

I love and appreciate my culture.

This is down to the food, music, dresses and history my country Nigeria has had over the 63 years of independence. Our hairstyles date back to slavery. Some traditional hairstyles were used by slaves to hide rice seeds for planting once they escaped.

The food in my country is truly amazing. This is down to the popular Jollof rice and Fufu and Egusi. I truly love Afang and pounded Yam. When my mum prepares this i dash down stairs to enjoy this meal with a bottle of Nigerian Fanta.

Music can be described a my cultural history, brought from West Africa to America and sung daily whilst Slaves did their jobs. Music signified worship, celebration and happiness.

As I crawled next to my grandmother and listened to her great story I fell in love more with my history and culture. When I wear my cultural attires I am filled and overpowered with joy. Blessing (Yr.8)

THAI FOOD

Thai food is one of my absolute favourite things to eat because I really like spicy food. I do enjoy making it myself at home, but I enjoy going to Thai restaurants. I usually order a red or green curry.

Miss England (Librarian)

SPICY FOOD

My Great-Nana’s father came from Sri Lanka so he liked putting spices in his food and when my Nana was younger, she used to sit in the kitchen with her father whilst he cooked curries and stews for their whole family. My Nana had 3 children to feed so she used to love using a great amount of seasonings. This tradition has run through the family all the way to me and I love cooking. When me and my Dad cook we always use lots of spices that we get from the international shops of Spring Bank. Me and my Dad love to make chicken with spicy seasonings. My whole family likes spices in their food - It's a good thing they do! Mia. (Yr.8)

MOZZARELLA STICKS

My favourite food is mozzarella sticks because they are divine. I normally have them with spaghetti for my tea and I love them so much. Eva (Yr.8)

RISOLS

It was my grandmother's birthday recently and she still lives in Latvia so she sent me a picture of her food and she was having Risols, like every celebration we have because it's a tradition. In Risols you usually put in boiled potatoes, meat, peas, sometimes onions but I prefer it without, boiled eggs and sometimes carrots which I prefer without as well. You add a lot of mayonnaise and sourcream and salt. In Latvia we use sour cream all the time, we add it to everything. You cut up all the ingredients into small pieces and you mix everything together. Elliot (Yr.11)

LIPUTA

I love my traditional Liputa clothes. As a mixed race person, I have grown up in a different culture and one thing I have fallen in love with is Liputa.My mother has always dripped herself head to toe with Liputa. Ever since I was young my fascination was her skill of making absolutely gorgeous outfits by herself (I helped of course!). I have wonderful memories of her using me as her mannequin. I loved seeing how, no matter what her day/week had been, whenever her package would arrive her face would light up seeing the gift from her family each Christmas. Kevine (Yr.8)

SLEEP

I love to sleep because I like relaxing. I also love cats and dogs because they are cute and adorable creatures. I wish I had one but my family doesn’t want one. I also love Latvian traditional food, the food is this bread with ham bites and butter inside and it's delicious. I love Latvia because my grandparents live there and they didn't have a long time left to live because my grandma is sick and my grandpa is also sick. I really miss them because I don't get to see them. I also love Latvia because I love so many things about it which Hull or the UK can't even compare to. I used to live there with my Mom until we moved to Hull. Diana (Yr.8)

BITTERBALLEN

I am from the Netherlands and so my favourite food is a Dutch dish called Bitterballen that reminds me of my childhood. It is made of meat and gravy and covered in breadcrumbs before being deep fried. You eat it covered in mustard and when you bite in and taste all the gravy it is just amazing. They’re prepared by making a very thick stew thickened with roux and beef stock and generously loaded with meat, refrigerating the stew until it gets firm, and then rolling the mixture into balls, which then get breaded and fried. Bitterballen are very different from the typical meatball, when you bite into one you enjoy a crispy exterior and soft and smooth interior.

Seasonings in Bitterballen stew usually include onions, salt and pepper, parsley and nutmeg. Most recipes include nutmeg but there are also variations using curry powder or that add in finely chopped vegetables such as carrot. Serve with Dijon Mustard. Miss De Bokx (Head of Creative Faculty)

FISH AND CHIPS

My favourite food is good oldfashioned fish and chips. Usually, I go to Bridlington for the day and take the dog for a lovely long walk on the beach. At the end of the day, I have my fish and chips, usually with mushy peas and curry sauce and I always eat them with my fingers because I think it makes them taste even better. Miss Oswald (Art, Photography and Textiles teacher)

NEWSPAPER CLUB

We liked setting up our own newspaper club because there’s things to do with tech and layout, typing, meeting people, getting people together, being creative, having ideas, imagining what to write about, writing, promotion and making it live in print or online. Heres what the group enjoyed most about it.

»Making a paper and collecting news is important so people get to know what's happening and what others think. So we all have something to read that about.

»We find out more about teachers so they feel more like human beings and learn things about stories and facts.

»We really enjoyed doing the food quiz – writing it and getting people to tell us their answers

»I liked interviewing peopleincluding all the tutors

»Taking photos and collecting stories and doing visual stuff for a paper

»I like writing and sharing the stories

»I like showing and using journalistic skills,

»I like being in the library and sharing ideas together

»Working across ages has been good we get to know new people across school

»Free fanta!

Which is the best condiment?

Tomato sauce

Brown sauce

Choose the best fruit

Which salad ingredient do you like best? Cucumber

How do you quench thirst? Apple juice Orange juice

Which takeaway?

»It's fun, we have chosen to do it, rather than be told like a class.

22 @EOFUSHU3

Word

Search!

F U N BI T

BITTERBALLEN

BREADCAKES

DOVEHOUSE

NEWSHOUND SUNFLOWERS

ACUPUNCTURE

BOULEVARD

PURPOSE

VOLUNTEER BUSINESS

JOKES

FAVOURITE GOODNESS BROTHERS LOYALTY SISTERS BIKES

WOMEN HIDDEN INTROVERT HEALTH

BRAVERY STORAGE LIGHT YAM FAMILY HULL ARTIST LOVE FERAL

WHEN I FIRST MET LUCKY I THOUGHT SHE WAS QUITE CUTE. I DON;T HAVE A PET AT HOME. MY AUNTY'S DOG IS LIKE LUCKY BUT IT'S QUITE JUMPY. LUCKY IS CALM AND SHE MAKES ME LAUGH WHEN SHE PANTS! I LOVE OUR THERAPY DOG."

Scarlett, Yr.6

What’s a firefly’s favorite dance?

The glitterbug.

Why did the turkey join a band?

So he could use his drumsticks.

What did the snowflake say to the road?

Let’s stick together.

What’s a math teacher’s favorite winter sport? Figure skating.

Where do werewolves buy Christmas gifts? Beast Buy.

Olivia, Yr.2

DAILY NEWS

I LIKE THIS SCHOOL

BECAUSE WE HAVE SIGNED UP TO THE WHITE RIBBON PROMISE. IT ALSO HAS ITS FUN TEACHERS, COOL PLAYGROUNDS, A LIBRARY, A SCHOOL THERAPY DOG (LUCKY), AFTER SVHOOL CLUBS, PUSHES US TO WORK HARD TO GET GOOD GRADES.

CHILTERN IS A FUN, TRUSTWORTHY SCHOOL. I LOVE IT!

Laila, Yr.6

Kayden, Yr.2

M Scarah, Yr.2

"I LIKE LUCKY AS SHE HELPS ME BE CALM. I LOVE COMING TO SEE HER AND STROKING HER."

Lewis, Yr.6

at Chiltern Primary School, and yes Lucky the therapy dog is very popular.

Wall of Death, Hull Fair

«Continued from page 15.

In the 1980’s, world renowned photographer Daniel Meadows (renowned more now than then) worked as a lecturer at Humberside College of Higher Education. Little did he know that his influence would reach us today. As any good teacher should, he inspired 3 art students, who pursued an interest in social documentary photography, and in HU3. Russell Boyce, Ross Williams and Steve Conlan all created bodies of work about HU3, most of which have never been seen. Russell Boyce may be better known in these parts because of his work photographing an 18-year-old local, George Norris, and his family of Rag and Bone traders. Anyone who read the last edition of EofUs will know that this, in turn, inspired George to pick up the camera himself. Whilst all 4 photographers have documented many aspects of workingclass life in HU3, another photographer, Tony Ward, now the owner of Top Color print shop on Hessle Road, was also documenting HU3 people and visitors in a very different way, in his photography studio.

So why the interest in Hull and HU3?

Ross, Russell and Steve were all drawn into Hull Art School. Boyce was drawn to study in Hull because the school "felt new and dynamic and offered the opportunity to float between departments as my interests took me." This differed from other art schools where he felt the schools and lecturers rested too much on their laurels. For Ross, who wanted to be a lumberjack but failed his A levels, art school was his second choice. He lived nearby in Cottingham but explained that Hull "had something of a reputation for being a bit naughty, on the edge". He also remembers "that HU3 was where everyone who worked in Hull’s traditional industries, met the transient, where clubs introduced new acts and where Hull Fair and Circuses visited and interacted with the local". He explained, "this meeting often meant friction, but sometimes a fantastic and unexpected fusion, where the exciting visual performance and spectacle took place and that’s what drew me there." Steve, however, says that he "didn’t choose Hull but that it was chosen for him by his tutor!" He said, "…but then it all worked out for the best. Towards the end of the first year at Hull College of Higher Education, Daniel Meadows turned up to teach photography, which was lucky for me as the illustration tutors weren't convinced by my creative use of fuzzy felts." We also think it turned out for the best. The parallels between Hull and his hometown of Bootle, became more and more obvious to him. He could see the dependence of communities on the industries based around major rivers, and the devastating effects that the de-industrialisation, and managed decline of the north had on workers and families alike. Indeed, it was these observations which brought him back to Hull in 1988 to work on the Hull and Liverpool Dockside Communities project.

For George and Tony, they were already part of the HU3 community. Norris is passionate about documenting the very community that Steve speaks of because he is part of it. "I was born and bred here. I choose to work here because I want to celebrate my community, because we don’t seem to have a voice. I can give a voice. People who don’t know it

stereotype it as northern and gritty. I think it’s a place of great beauty. It’s been said it a crap city, I’ve never thought that. It’s not."

Tony’s route into photography in HU3 was very different. After he left school in 1970, he cut his teeth as a photographer’s apprentice at James Marshalls Photo studio on Holderness Road. "James Marshalls was an amazing place because ‘Jimmy’ was also a drummer at West field Country Club and all the greats used to play there – Duke Ellington, Count Bassey, - so all these people used to come in the shop and get their photos done. One day I went in and Buddy Rich was giving Jimmy a drum lesson upstairs.' So Tony’s work took him into the world of entertainment. His studio photography was less about documenting people in the throes of their daily lives, but in people putting their best side forward for a promo shot that might just get them their next gig.

The photographs

We asked each photographer to share a selection of their work of HU3 with us. With the exception of Russell’s photograph of George, the images in here have never been published before. We also asked them why they had chosen them.

For Russell the images of George and June sorting rags and Candy dressed as a nun drinking a pint were specially chosen because they are provocative and potentially divisive. He believes this to be a good starting point to open discussion about the power of photography and the image that can be captured in that 250th of a second. Ross is conscious of the different time they were made in…"They make me both excited but embarrassed. Visually I think they make you want to look and ask questions, but the questions I ask now (before making a photograph) are so different to the questions I asked then." So too for Steve who talks about the importance of a picture changing over time, "At the time of taking, all my work was issue based and those issues were important to consider and relay at the time, to as many people as possible, with the intent to hopefully have some influence and contribute to the debates they hopefully reflected. Now the work is more reflective. It is a physical document of what has happened, a reminder of the past and hopefully a nudge to the future, especially in today's Tory Britain. It is a history of ordinary working class people that would have gone unrecorded otherwise."

For Tony and George the reasons are even closer to home. "They’re novel, of a time. Things are no longer the same - people don’t have promo shots done like that anymore. I learnt to do this back then from Jimmy because he’d photograph the local stars. The Dream Girls and many others were and are the local stars of HU3" explains Tony. And George? "I’ve been doing this now for 15 years. I started because of Russell and the photos of me Mams about the family. I realised I was from a culturally rich and important family. I wanted to reveal them. It’s part of my love letter to Hull."

In common

Whilst some of these photographers are peers, others aren’t and there is both commonality and differences in their styles. However, we have noticed another unexpected thing that they have in common. Each one, in their own way, documented the LGBTQ+ and drag performance scene in working class club venues in HU3, in the 1980s and 90s. This is a significant but hidden body of work. Read page 28 to find out what we plan to do about that.

The ethics around taking photographs of people have changed over the years, but what mantras do our 5 photographers live by when it comes taking photos in places with people?

Ross

Make no assumptions. Communicate. Don’t ever consider anyone as a ‘subject’. Consider the power relationship between the one with the camera and the one who is having a camera pointed at them.

Steve

Understand why you are there and what it is you want to convey through the resulting photographs.

Tony

I don’t think a photo should need a title…your photo should tell you everything about the person and the place.

George

“I think you look amazing can I take your picture?” Give a compliment and ask permission. Seek out unconventional outsiders.

Russell Take time to form a relationship with the people you photograph. Give them a print of the picture you have taken.

FIND OUT

"IT’S A PLACE OF GREAT BEAUTY"

Ross Williams Steve Conlan Tony Ward

George Norris Russell Boyce

DANIEL MEADOWS

“Oh my goodness! I had no idea that my spell in Hull would revisit me like this after such a time… I worked at Humberside College of Higher Education from 1981 to 83. I wanted to teach because my own experience of schooling had been very poor and, after working as a photographer and television researcher, meeting people from all walks of life, I felt I had a contribution to make.” And what a contribution!

Daniel not only affected the lives and work of the photographers featured here, as teacher and mentor, but many others with his powerful generous approach which he describes as: "Make it a daily habit to engage with strangers and treat people as individuals, never as types”.

Daniel worked directly in the communities he found himself in. Often setting up free photo studios capturing people during their everyday life. “In the late 1990s, I was curious to find out what had happened to those I’d photographed from the Free Photographic Omnibus [a converted London double decker], so I persuaded the editors of local newspapers in three of the towns I’d visited, to run ‘where are they now?’ features, inviting readers to identify themselves and to be interviewed and pictured again. This work developed and twenty years after leaving Hull, I returned to the city as part of my lifelong endeavour to enable/educate people to take control of the way they are represented by the media — I devised a travelling community digital storytelling project called Telling Lives. It ran from 2003 to 2005 and was led by local Hull people."

Daniel was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, meaning he now makes very little new work, but focuses on showing his archive internationally. "MS doesn’t stop me and I’m still fascinated by the work of photographers like Bill Brandt, who seemed to use his camera like a passport to slip between the social classes; David Hurn, who I began working with after I left Hull - he was truly inspiring. And Chris Killip who said "Photography is not what interest me, it's the subject matter that interests me."

"TREAT PEOPLE AS INDIVIDUALS, NEVER AS TYPES”

The first Three Wheeler car to cross the newly opened Humber Bridge.1981.

The Dream Girls, left, still performing to this day

GEORGE NORRIS

DANIEL MEADOWS

SCENE BUT NOT HEARD

As we delved deeper into the history of photography in HU3, discovering the connections between the work of Daniel Meadows, Steve Conlan, Russell Boyce, Ross Wlliams, George Norris and Tony Ward, we realised that a body of photographs documenting the LGBTQ+ and drag performance scene, in working class venues in HU3 in the 1980s and 90s, was lying unseen, dispersed in their various collections. This work represents not only a unique and artistically significant body of photographs, but an important record of queer heritage, and working class venues in HU3 as safe spaces for those who considered themselves outsiders.

This body of work is too important to remain hidden. Artist Investigator Kate Genever has shared some of these photographs with diverse communities within HU3, as well as the wider queer community in Hull, and they agree (Jimmy and DD's interview, right, came out of that process). She has been working behind the scenes to gather support for a project that will gather this work and bring it out into the public domain. Three Ways East, working with historian James Greenhalgh, at the University of Lincoln and The Half life of the Blitz project are pulling together a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund to make this project a reality. As well as being supported by our 5 original photographers and Daniel Meadows, this is also supported more widely by The Warren, Hull History Centre and the Bishopsgate Institute.

We suspect that this work will lead us to even more photographs contained within people’s personal collections, as well as important personal memories that, if shared, could form part of a collective memory, made visible.

JOIN US

Photographs often trigger recollections and we’d love to hear yours

»Where: Ryders Club. Coltman Street

»When: Wed Oct 18th 3 - 6pm

EofUs invited HU3 residents DD and Jimmy to look at the collections of photos and consider their personal experiences

DD: I came to Hull in 2016, so I don’t know anyone really in these photos, but I do know how important these people are. I know this area is important in accepting me.

Jimmy: Yes I don’t know any of these people other than Candy. But I know they are part of the HU3 community which I also am. I love that I am from here, I love this area. People here have always accepted me – more so than town. I’d rather be in HU3 than town. Here I’m also surrounded by powerful women who are my allies – my family and family friends. Yes I’m a gay man, but I don’t flaunt that. I know and am confident of who I am but I am also respectful. I wouldn’t kiss a man in front of people here. That would be too much. I come to Rayners or Ryders and I can be myself. People can come and be themselves. I met DD and other gay or trans women in these places.

DD: I’m a trans woman, not a woman I know that. But I agree, here people are enjoying their lives and not scared of people's opinions.

Jimmy: I am proud to know you DD – you gave me confidence. I thought, if she can do that.

DD: That’s so powerful to know you are so accepting of me.

Jimmy: People are in awe of you. You are an inspiration. I didn’t know many queer people till I met you.

DD: It’s wonderful to hear. You are inspirational to me. He looks nice and cares about himself which means he cares about his life. He is passing the baton. It’s amazing to think I have inspired or helped other people because of how I live. That has really touched me in my heart.

I was a farmer, I had cattle and 500 acres. I raced bikes and lorries. I loved this life, with my wife and children – a son and daughter. We worked hard and did well. I achieved a lot. But I had to do this, be me. I am guilty of living a lie, and this lie meant that my children and wife no

longer want to speak or see me. This is painful and I am eternally sorry to have hurt them. But I knew from the moment I was a kid, when we played cowboys and Indians. The suede shirt outfit was very attractive to me. But I was told not to mess about by my granny so I hid it. Then when I was married, my wife and I had a fancy dress party. I wore women’s clothes and I didnt want to take them off. I just always knew. I lived like this for 37 years, I kept it a secret. When I first said I was a trans woman, because I couldn't hold it back anymore, I lost everything. I was told I was a disgrace. But the truck and bike community I was part of were fine. I went racing one year as a man and the next as a woman and no one ever said anything, they just were themselves. I guess I was respected.

Jimmy: When I came out when I was 18, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told my family. Me dad was more accepting. If you haven’t got your family in support, you haven’t got anyone. It was hard, full of emotion and anger and fall outs. But times are changing.

DD: Sometimes I can’t be bothered to get dressed up and do my make-up. I think what can I do with this body? But I know I must.

Jimmy: I do get disappointed with how people see or go to Pride like it’s a fun day out thing. They get all dressed up and think that’s it for one day. One day loving but the next they are calling you. It’s not just about a good time.

DD: This is why we need to talk more about what it’s like, what it was like. and how hard it is still.

It’s wonderful to be part of this community. I want to get people to accept anyone. I think we give people permission. I’ve had lots of men who want to do what I’ve done, but they are too scared of losing everything. And that is the serious stuff, because it’s true.

GEORGE NORRIS

RUSSELL BOYCE

THE ENEMY ARRIVES BY LIMOUSINE

I penned this tune last year thinking about yet another dingy full of desperate people tipping up in the freezing sea. The narrative we’re given is that these people are our enemies, yet it’s always seemed to me that they’re people like you and me and that our true adversaries are often the people we’re told to admire. I’d seen a placard on social media and jammed around, using the slogan and a few chords until I got a melody. Writing gives me a way to express and channel feelings of anger and powerlessness and to tell a story from a different perspective, often in direct contrast to what the telly is telling us. Sometimes the songs come out as satire and comedy, other times a bit melancholy and bleak. This one is in minor chords and has a gruffness which suits the story.

The enemy doesn’t come in a small flimsy boat

Cast out to sea by a godless cut-throat

Nor do they travel in an airless container

Stuffed in a truck by the eternal jailer

The enemy rolls up in a limousine

Looking all slick but we know the mother****er’s mean

Rotten to the core, making its way out

Crushing all the desperate souls wandering about

Ain’t it time we dropped the pretence

The bad guys don’t climb no barbed wire fence

On the border, with pain and disorder

The desolate stand, ashamed, getting colder

The enemy rolls up in a limousine,

Looking all slick but we know the mother****er’s mean

Rotten to the core, making its way out

Crushing all the desperate souls wandering about

So let’s remember through our festive December

That all’s not as it seems, there’s a well versed agenda

To keep us separate, to hush us, make us choke

Making sure we don’t get up and follow hope

The enemy rolls up in a limousine

Looking all slick but we know the mother****er’s mean

Rotten to the core, making its way out

Crushing all the desperate souls wandering about

Martin King

STORIES OF STORAGE

The Aimless Archive was commissioned by EofUs to respond to the area using their unique approach. An approach that includes a slowing down to see, a catching of overheard conversations, and a process of cataloguing "finds" in a system of notebooks. 'Stories of Storage' became a focus. The growing collection offers a layered and alternative view of the area, drawing attention to where the things we love or loved are stored. Here's an example of what was found and how it was archived (below) and some prompts to get you started on your own exploration (right)

The streets are used as storage for shops but they are also used to get rid of stuff. Some kind of fly-tipped archive. Drawers where things were kept - cupboard doors where things were hurriedly closed away. Now broken up and propped against the telephone box.

-

NOT IN USE X X X -

Handwritten on the glass.

Labels were stapled to the drawers. It seems they stored staples.

EXPLORE

Stories of storage: theaimlessarchive.com/hu3

WALKING TOUR

Try out The Aimless Archive’s approach

»When: Oct 7th at 2.30.

»Where: Meet at the phone box, Coltman Street corner

DOWNLOAD MORE PROMPTS

Explore HU3 and post the finds tagging @EofUsHU3 and @the.aimless.archive or using the hashtag #storiesofstorageHU3

YOU CAN Look for the window with the winches, ropes, and lifting gear. What would you lift up or elevate around here?

YOU CAN Follow in the footsteps of someone you know. It could be someone from the past - it could be a relation or a friend or a pet. Re-trace a journey that they might take. Note down the things that might have been there when they were there.

YOU CAN Take a photo or make a list of items stored on the pavement.

Perhaps a shop spills onto the street - or a delivery has just been set down temporarily.

TIME FOR YOU

Most of us are pretty rubbish at taking time for ourselves or are not always in a position to do that. Here we find out about local health and relaxation practitioners and some very special offers for HU3 residents.

Mixed Origins

Ana and Lauren, who we discovered through their yoga work, offer us more than good posture.

Why the name “Mixed Origins”?

Lauren: Ana is from Guatemala and I am from the UK. We now live in HU3 on Coltman St. We moved here just before the lockdowns.

Ana: We want to work in the community and share our knowledge, skills and experiences and get us all more connected – with our bodies, selves, each other.

Lauren: I learnt Yoga and Reiki in India and it changed my life, then I got into teaching it. We have been leading yoga at Lonsdale Community Centre and it’s been great. Meeting women, sharing the beautiful space and magic of yoga.

Why HU3?

Ana: There’s so much in one place. There is a bit of everything.

Lauren: It reminds me of India. It's real and not too designed. It feels safe and there’s so many different people. We love the sense of small strong communities and we are slowly building a great network.

Ana: It’s pivotal for our survival that we, humans, have a network, and we see that’s how we can contribute to this community. We can bring people together and support one another. Being inclusive is really important. We are trying

to bring this inclusion to the spaces, we hold be that yoga or women’s groups. We all like the familiar, but when people meet and form relationships with others they see and learn other ways of living and being. We believe that having access to therapeutic spaces is beneficial to everyone. Sadly often only certain people can access them because of the cost or lack of services provided. But we ask why is everyone not receiving these complementary therapies?

How do you work?

Lauren: We want to support people. We, like lots of people, have experienced trauma, which makes us think everyone deserves to feel alive, human and to live in a humane system. A lot of people are going through a hard time with an empty cup. We all deserve the opportunity to take time so we can fill up our cups.

Ana: The fast-paced British culture means we don’t allow time to do this, it’s not normal or we think we can’t have this. People think they don’t need to talk and keep everything inside.

Lauren: When Ana first came to the UK, she couldn’t believe how many people were coping with not expressing themselves emotionally.

Is this why you do what you do?

Ana: Yes, I am a psychologist. Many of us think it’s not right or we shouldn’t talk about how we are feeling. We are in-doctorinated early and lack an emotional

education which encourages us not to talk about how we feel. We block this ability to look into ourselves and see our personal needs. When we recognise this we can start moving forward. Our work involves having physical contact with others, the giving and receiving of emotions can be felt through our skin, that’s why physical contact is so important it could be as simple as holding hands. We say it's ok to feel shit, people can cry and feel sad, angry and scared. By acknowledging that these are human emotions allows us to cultivate more compassion for ourselves and others. We create a safe space and environment for people to start diving into themselves.

Lauren: We are promoting self-care and inviting people to connect to their bodies. Without a connection to the self, life can feel isolated, but a life with connection to the self means you’ll never be alone.

Ana: We can connect to everything when we see ourselves as nature. There’s no difference between anyone or any species. We are all the same living thing. Everything is alive in us and we are alive in everything.

Lauren: We would love that people could see themselves as part of a large diverse connected community supporting and enriching each other.

What do you love about what you do:

Ana: I love how the body feels in motion and expressing emotion.

Lauren: I love creating environments that allow free expression, free from judgement.

ENJOY

A sound and movement workshop led by Anna and Lauren. 5 places total. Mats and blankets provided. Come in comfy clothes. @mixed_origins.sc @yo_go_girlyoga

»Where: Lonsdale Community Centre

»When: Friday 15th September or 29th September 6pm – 7:30pm

»Book: Message Kate on 07713 647 715

ANNA CORRIMINA

NATURE FIX

Rachel Massey designed Nature Fix to help those who, like her, found solace and rejuvenation in nature. EoUs is offering FREE Nature Fix subscriptions. We asked Rachel why we all need it.

"I was confined to my house. I couldn’t stand or find my balance. I’ve been diagnosed with a type of vertigo. Being stuck in reinforced how I loved nature. I desperately wanted to connect to the natural world. But was trapped and of course it made me think of all the other people trapped in doors too. All I wanted was simple videos and podcasts of a garden or the woods. A true report on what was happening outside the door in nature. I listened to sound recordings but realised they are made up by people in sound studios. Research shows being in or with nature is important and many of us have disconnected from it. Yes we can be fearful but it's hardwired in us. I know the benefits of nature through reading lots of things, which makes the feelings I have even more important and make my work more important too. Science shows if we really look at nature, something like moss growing in the crack in the pavement, or listen to the wind or bird song for two minutes we get eight hours of reduced stress hormone. Isn’t that incredible that two minutes of deep looking gives us deep relief?

But of course what we need is the willingness to notice and consider how you feel. We can be outside, but we are not often paying attention. We have to connect emotionally, tune in, touch, smell and be with our senses. All this is what reduces stress, fatigue, anxiety, and increases sleep. That’s where Nature Fix comes in. Importantly it’s not a cure for complex problems - rather a preventative act, where we can help ourselves and we can keep ourselves better and fend off depression.

The free membership I’m offering gives you access to me and guided meditations recorded in woods for example. Mindful things that calm and settle us. It brings nature indoors if like me you can’t always get out. Nature Fix helps you get connected. I upload new content every month. There’s things to consider and notices of what’s happening out there in nature that might be interesting. There’s lots of ways to get involved and there’s no commitment to join a regular zoom meeting or keep up with a course – just lots of beautiful resources and invitations to connect with nature in simple easy ways, and tips to keep you on track."

RELAX

Auricular therapy involves placing five small needles in the ear (doesn’t hurt) to help calm the body and mind, making us feel relaxed

»When: Thursday 5th Oct 10am for 1 hour

»Where: eMBe clinic. Louis Pearlman Centre

»Book: 7 FREE places available.

Message Kate on 07713 647 715

eMBe is a sanctuary filled with beautiful essential oils, diffused to make all feel welcome, golden wallpaper, soft lighting, and specially blended tea. EofUs wonders what’s not to love while exploring the therapies on offer?

YOU CAN

eMBe

»Acupuncture BSc, Herbs, Reflexology, Massage and Aromatherapy

»Louis Pearman Centre, Goulton St

»embeacupuncture. co.uk

»07969182491

"My work involves listening, talking and providing the right therapy to suit the client. It seems the doctors are so busy, and people are at a loss as to where to turn to help themselves and their ailments. I am different to most doctors, as I work differently by looking at the body, mind and spirit. I look at the whole person in a holistic way. For example when someone feels pain, I find where it is coming from and treat accordingly. I started as a hairdresser from school but then realised I wanted to do more. I started to train in massage, aromatherapy and then reflexology. Then did a BSc in Acupuncture qualifying in 2018. Followed by becoming a Herbalist in 2022.

I know how hard it is for some people getting therapies, it makes you feel vulnerable. But I knew I was good at talking to people and I like helping people feel better. I feel I am in the right place doing the right job. I know it’s important to make people feel safe – how my room feels and looks is part of that. The teas and aromatherapy products are so people can do home care. I mix a blend to suit each person and grind the Chinese herbs here. Medication is necessary for some conditions but I do wonder if pills are always necessary. I often think they mask what’s really going on instead of getting to the root cause. I work to try and find the source of the problem, be that musculoskeletal, mental health related, stress. This way of treating is expensive, but I guess pills cost lots too. The NHS does now recognise acupuncture and I am working now in the NHS too, I’m glad to be able to reach more people.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is looking at the body in a different way to Western Medicine. Receiving acupuncture helps free up blood and Qi (energy) balancing the whole body. Most people don’t realise our emotions affect our organs energetically. By using acupuncture I stimulate nerves and free blocked energy , making you feel better over time. A blocked liver, for example, can make you feel angry, frustrated and short-tempered. Our Lungs for example relate to grief.

I know how important it is to feel good on the outside but this is about feeling good on the inside too. It's important to look after ourselves. We wouldn’t run our car into the ground so why not keep ourselves healthy too? I don’t think it should be a treat. But we don’t often invest in ourselves this way or we can’t afford to. When people do they feel guilty. I never feel guilty - we can’t do good if we don’t look after ourselves first. I totally know time spent on yourself is never wasted."

TIME SPENT ON YOURSELF IS NEVER WASTED

ELIJAH HEMBURY PETE MASSEY

WE LOVE VOLUNTEERING

HU3 has many, many volunteers. It’s an area of generous people offering time to help others, be that in one of the area’s charity shops, in a community centre café, as a receptionist or by fixing a bike. These amazing people provide essential services and they support the community, and each other, while also learning stuff about themselves and about life. Oh…and it’s fun!

DOVE HOUSE 316 HESSLE RD TEAM

Dove House on Hessle Road is a special place – not just for the great clothes, DVDs, and books, but for the atmosphere. The long-serving staff laugh, tell stories, and are always super helpful. But why….was it something in their water? Happily, we think we found the source… it’s a simple secret, LOVE. Not only do all the staff have a deep love for the hospice that has supported them, their families, and their community, they have love for one another when life is good or hard. They love their purpose, the effort, and the customer. Here’s what they told us.

Mark: I started as a volunteer 9 years ago. I’d retired from construction and thought I’d take a year out, but after two weeks I couldn’t do it. I slowly worked my way up and now I'm the Manager. I enjoy the team and how people appreciate what we do. I like how we redirect clothes from waste. We wouldn’t be able to do this without volunteers, they are amazing and go the extra mile. One of my volunteers comes across the city to steam clothes for 4 hours a week. Others do whatever they want and we encourage them. We are a team and a team needs all sorts of different people. We often talk about how we wouldn’t have met if it wasn’t for work, and now we are friends. Some of us go to the pub together, some to bingo, and we have days out and parties. We are like a big family.”

Sue: I started after the kids had all gone to school. I was bored. I came here four years ago as Assistant Manager. I will give my heart and soul for Dove House, it’s a fantastic cause. We work hard and play hard. I am the organiser of the social stuff. 13 of us went on a trip to the seaside and it was brilliant. Some people don’t want to go on trips, so I get them involved in the special stuff we do in the shop. I never leave anyone out. We are a team. My volunteers are amazing, we couldn’t do it without them. I like to show we appreciate them. We text and check up on each other outside of work. I’ve been poorly recently and these lot have been brilliant.

Ines: I love it all. This place is heaven.

DOVE HOUSE ANLABY ROAD TEAM

KNIT & NATTER

In Lonsdale Community Centre on Tuesdays mornings, Knit and Natter is full of volunteers who give not only their time.

Joan, at 85, crochets mostly blankets for the Salvation Army Charity Shop, who give them to those in need. "Each blanket takes 16 balls of wool but I also do those twiddle mitts, that you use your fingers to fiddle with, for people in old folks homes that take up less. I can't do nothing, just sit there. It’s no good I like to be busy –always have". Her friend Pat, agrees.

Pat used to have the shop on Arthur St corner and worked there from being a kid. "We were always busy, I’m always busy. I knit about 2 or 3 hours a day. I like to keep me fingers busy. I’m making a cardigan as a gift for someone, it’s a surprise.

My son has all of a sudden got a problem with his kidney, he needs a transplant. I volunteered one of mine but they said I was too old. I said I would because I’m a Mam. He’s only 53, he’s young."

Sarah, the Manager, explains why she volunteers and how people can come into her shop and get bargains. "I’ve been here for 12 years, since I lost me dad who I’d cared for, and me youngest went to Secondary. I didn’t want to just sit at home. I lived on Boulevard and so I started at Spring Bank and then here. I’m now the manager, but I don’t feel like a manager because we are a team.

I’ve got one volunteer who comes 6 days a week and takes 2 buses. He never lets me down – he’s a very special volunteer.

We sell things here that other shops haven’t sold but at a better price. It’s the last try before recycling – I guess it’s a way to reduce the quantity that goes for rags or landfill. In our shops there’s such a variety, meaning people can express themselves individually by shopping here. That’s what I love.

Lead volunteer Alison says Volunteering is something I’ve always done. I have mental health issues and so coming here, socialising and being in a team and making friends is important. Otherwise I’m isolated and would stay in the house. MIND helped me with the form and getting this job. I do it to break the cycle of thinking that all people are horrible, it reminds me people are ok, and most are kind.

Dee: I’ve been here 5 years. I catch four buses a day and I love it. I had cancer and my sister who died last year was in the hospice. So I know how it benefits people. When I came into this shop I just knew it was the one for me. I love the atmosphere. I’ve adopted Mark and now it's too late to give him back! My top tip for people thinking of volunteering is visit places until you know the one that suits you.

Liz: Working here has helped me behave differently with my family. I’m kind already, but being here has helped me think and speak differently. I am able to express and explain myself better and it's made lots of difference.

Michelle: I do 1-2 days and come from the other side of Gypsyville. I got the placement via the job centre. I had a six week chance but I’ve never left. I love serving customers and putting the pretty things out. I buy stuff from the shop and then donate back when I get too much at home.

Sarah: My mam died and these lot have helped. I am closer to them than my own family now. My kids love Sue too, and want to visit and send her cards. She’s amazing. She needs the best human being award.

Mandy: I came from London and so my family are all away. These are my family now.

Karen: I’ve only been here one year, it gets me out as there’s only me and the cats.

Eddie: I’ve done seven years. I’m a lead volunteer. I love history and so I do the books and DVDs. I save things for customers who I know will like them. We know our regulars really well. I like that our work means that people can get the best care at the worst part of their life. I do it for the hospice. The best sellers are Mills and Boons! I put loads out this morning and they’ve all gone.”

Lizzie: I’ve been here five years, I love everything about the job. The customers, I like the team, the socialising and the laugh. I’ve recently become a Lead Volunteer. I only came to Dove House for six months! I like being on the shop floor and interacting with people. People tell me stories and you realise you are working for the hospice. It makes you feel good.

CONTACT

For more info about volunteering

»Lonsdale Community Centre: 8 Lonsdale Street. 01482564691

»Talking Magazine: 01482 585822 info@hulltalkingmagazine.org.uk

»Giroscope: christina@giroscope.org.uk

»Dove House: dovehouse.org.uk or call into Dove House shops

SHONA

"I have been volunteering in the Café and Charity shop for nearly 16 years and am about to retire. I've been doing about 35 hours a week! I've loved meeting nice people. If people are having a bad day, we care, we are spreading the love."

Why Volunteering?

It’s nice to give back. When me Dad passed the centre picked me up. They were here for me and I am here for them. Lonsdale is very much a family hidden behind me. I also think it's nice that people know I'm someone to trust. I’m a friendly face, trying to help by noticing. If I can see somebody on the street looking a bit low I'll put them down on the stool, give them tea, and after ten minutes they feel much better. But isn't that what you do in the community?

It’s also my way of coping with life. We are all like blotting paper, but we need to let it go. 15 minutes of talking is like a sponge that takes it away. Sometimes I go in the centre and say “De-ink me I’m a bit full up”. Working improves mental health, which helps the people you meet. I do it for friendship too. I put 100% in and get 100% out. We should be asking ourselves, not can you afford to do it, but can you afford not to do it. I go home at night and think about how so and so came in and I made sure they were all right. I go through all the people and think - it was a good day, it's like I don't have hot chocolate with milk but with cream.

Why Lonsdale?

I like how the money moves from this till to a building 50 yards away. This place serves its neighbours in all ways. But also I was brought up on a farm and then went into catering which means you’ve no choice but to speak to people. And I can cook. I was one of the first waitresses awarded the Silver Service Award. I loved the challenge of getting a difficult customer to like you by the time they leave. It was the biggest tip because you’ve worked your magic on them. It's the same way here, getting people to trust you. I mean half the time I don't think people really come in for tea. I think they just come in. Well in this day and age sadly it's warm and it's cheap and the people are nice. Farming made you Volunteer?

GOOD BY NAME AND NATURE

In reception at Giroscope, Sarah Good Volunteers….but that’s not all she gives time to. She also runs the Volunteer FB page and Volunteer Newsletter. But how did she get here?

"2 years ago I was unable to leave my house. Marie, my case worker from Giroscope, used to come and visit and help. I stayed at home, slept all day and was awake all night. Eventually I joined their cooking project and then I did other things, and now this. I have a routine now and get up for work. Now if I get the wobbles I come here and break the cycle. I don’t sit in the flat. I say NO, I’m going out.

There’s so much more - life is full of possibility. I’m going up. I’ve got better confidence. I’ve got a choice of what to do. I have done incredible. I’m proud of myself. I wouldn’t have imagined I would be doing this and now I want to give something to my community, I want to support other people. I’m hoping people get confidence from talking to me. I live nearby and so maybe people will see that if I can do it they can too. So if you're struggling come in or just get in touch via FB page. We can talk quietly and not in front of everyone."

At Christmas, New Year, oh my, goodness me, I don't know where the people came from. I think they came through the rafters, they came up through the floor. The doors were flung open and the whole community came to our house. It was brilliant. When there was a problem everybody rallied around everybody else. I guess I learnt a lot there.

This shop is my living room, when I'm making the coffee, that's my kitchen. On the farm you open your back door, bacon's cooking, the sponges are getting made and everybody's like “it’s Sunday I’ll just pop over”. That's the same here. The cafe kitchen is the farmhouse kitchen. So yeah it’s probably more about farming than I think.

Acceptance

At the farm we also used to get travelling people, who used to come at potato time. They wouldn't take any money, they would take all the potatoes that they wanted or could. Dad would give them milk and bread and they worked damned hard. So I got to accept them. I think I accept people because of what my Dad taught into me? I was watered and blossomed because of me Dad. I grew and got told what was right and what was wrong. How to deal with people, how to work with people, how to deal with animals, how to deal with this and that. My Dad used to say, “Never do a wrong turn. If you can do a right turn”. Why HU3?

It's a home. It's like my street. I can go from top to bottom and nine times out of 10 I can't go very far without somebody speaking to me. Everybody knows me and that's comforting. It's like I've got 26 mums and 27 dads or something, all watching out for me.

I believe in second chances, for these clothes, for the community, for ourselves. A lot of people say this is a rubbish area and people are worthless. In farming we give land and animals second chances. HU3’s looked after me for 20 years. Why would I kick it in the teeth now? I mean, you wouldn't kick a sheep in the teeth because it suddenly went lame. Instead we pick it up, clean it and take it on.

And what would you say to people that are interested in volunteering?

Make sure you're going into an atmosphere that you're going to enjoy. Don't go into somewhere where it's stuffy and you've just got to stand like this and wait for somebody to tell you what to do. Make sure you're going somewhere where you feel comfortable and they love you.

TALKING MAGAZINE

Having featured in Hull & District Talking Magazine with the last issue, EofUs was interested to find out more about this service for the visually impaired. Turns out lots of people give their time to make it happen.

Produced fortnightly, Hull's Talking magazine features articles, taken mainly from the local papers in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Anyone who is unable to read a newspaper due to sight problems or other disabilities, can receive the Talking Magazine. It's currently sent out free of charge to over 200 people and can also be accessed online.

Importantly it's been making news stories more accessible since the 70’s and relies on 20 volunteers who turn up to edit, read, record, copy and dispatch. As a charity they rely totally on donations and receive no formal funding, so every contribution helps.

YOU GOTTA LOVE A

‘Andy Breadcakes’ is in fact Andy Mawer. Who alongside his family owns and runs Breadcakes Galore on Hessle Road. Lynsey, his eldest daughter, like her Dad grafts hard daily, alongside a series of cousins, to serve all their customers, who on quiet days buy 700 dozen breadcakes, 20 dozen scones, endless sausage rolls, many 'flatties', and if you're lucky some 'extra flat flatties' that go by the name of 'Nixons' – but that’s another story!

I FEEL PART OF A WE

Andy’s other daughters - Debbie, whose training in BioMedical sciences and Nicki - all have memories of "standing on flour sacks at the back of the bakery doing our bit or just stealing hot and gorgeous buns out the racks". Even now Debbie knows her "Dads bread’s the best and you can never get bored of bread because you just change the fillings - one day bacon, the other sausage and so on.”

The grandkids take this long standing HU3 bakery into the fifth generation. But only Andy, who bakes from 10pm every night, remembers his granddad Dennis, his dad Peter and all their previous bakeries, be that Perth Street, South Boulevard or Stickland Street.

Andy went self-employed in 1988 and since then EofUs calculates, based on quiet day sales, that he’s clocked up over 550,000,000 breadcakes! Meaning Lynsey, who’s worked alongside her dad now for 26 years, has got some catching up to do even though she stood on a box of fruit egg washing the scones as a kid. Which makes us not surprised to see how determined, like the generations before her, that staff, wages, deliveries and orders get sorted. Helping Breadcakes Galore continue as a strong family business ready to serve even more customers. Importantly, Breadcakes Galore, prides itself not just on making delicious quality products but keeping the price low. They want customers to return and they want them to have good food. But this means that in these price rising times they know, like the rest of us, there is a fine line between keeping going and not being able to carry on. Andy says "If the rent and or the flour goes up much more that will make our dozen breadcakes £5 and we know no one can afford them at that price. We know people round here are struggling more. Orders have gone down - people are buying less sandwiches out and about, plus they have extras like uniforms, Christmas, things like Hull fair on top of bills. Those bigger firms can turn bread out cheaper and at bigger quantities. We are at the end of the day a family business working hard to keep going, serve our customers and help them afford quality food.”

Paper company G . F Smith is Hull born and bred and known as a great family business. They have developed an international reputation for making and curating the world's finest and most distinctive papers over the last 135 years. Their factory is home to a team of paper experts and an amazing selection of papers, envelopes and packaging solutions. G . F Smith support creative people to make beautiful things, including Alec Gill whose book about Hessle Road is made using paper supplied by them - see page 38 'Smiths' is a HU3 neighbour, meaning many of the staff are HU3 residents, which is how we got to know Julian. Julian has lived on

Coltman St for the past 9 years. In which time he worked zero hours contracts for different Hull organisations before getting his first job at Smiths as a dispatcher. Now he's training to become a qualified forklift driver in the VNA [Very Narrow Aisles] store and warehouse. This highly skilled job means he needs a head for heights, a sharp eye and the ability to work in a compact space with speed and efficiency.

"This job is much better than all the previous agency work which is unstable and insecure. In those you don't know what hours or how long it may last... these things made me worry. So to be in a contract is good, I feel more stable and settled. It

FAMILY BUSINESS

MALTBYS

Maltbys is a HU3 institution. For the majority of its century in business the shop, which mainly deals in pet supplies, has been operated by a three-strong family unit.

Now it's headed up by Paul and Kathyrn Maltby, great great grandkids of the original founder Thomas. In 2019 Maltbys adapted and changed, going against the tide of independent retailers struggling to make their mark by purchasing a huge warehouse to deal with online sales. Which means in a handful of years they have gone from three family members to 35. EofUs wanted to know more about being an independent family business. Some of the staff tell us more.

Kathryn or Titch – because I guess I was once!: There’s 35 staff that work with us. 13 are family, including me favourite uncle Jeff, me brother, cousins, nephews and nieces. There’s in-laws, my best friend and a God Daughter Chloe too. Me brother’s best mate and his best man are also part of the team. We have a good time and everyone’s here on merit – we don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, just if you work hard and can get the jobs done.

We are super busy having expanded over lockdown to cater for online sales. 80% of what we sell is via Amazon and goes out all over. There are huge pet shops in the world and we were just a small shop on the corner of Hessle Road and Liverpool St. So we thought we can’t beat you, we’ll join you.

Adele: Its family, and they are willing to take risks, which I guess is how independents survive. We are close knit which means that we are friends as well as colleagues. Staff care more because it's family. And they want it to succeed more for the same reason. Maltbys are always interested in staff's ideas - Paul and Kath will back it if they think it’s a good idea.

Sarah: It’s nice to not just be an employee… they are interested in us personally, there’s flexibility, and they care what’s going on for you.

feels like Smiths have got me back. I am part of a we.

I'm working hard to get qualified here. It will make me confident and like I can also achieve things. I am doing something good... I am recognised. My brother is a scientist, and I was always compared to him by me Dad, who said he was better than me. I didn't like school, but I like to work. We need people to do all jobs. This job and Smiths gets me out of bed and gives me purpose.

I like me work mates, it's sort of like a family, we have a laugh, wind each other up. Recently

»600 Hessle Road HU3

»Opens Mon-Fri 8-4

»01482 219 032

They try out things which we might suggest. Some things work out and some things don’t, but they are happy to try. We are all part of making it a success. Mr Maltby Snr always says “You have to have a gambling gene to make a business grow.”

Amber: We get a day off for our birthdays – paid! Amazing. Which I think is good and generous.

it's been busy. So Warehouse Manager Michelle started a table football competition to lighten the mood. This is important. At Smiths it's friendly - more friendly than I'm used to at other jobs. I'm a quiet person, and normally do my own thing. But here they are nice. They want you to do your job well, they offer us training and want us to show up. It's a happy environment. However If I could change one thing I'd like a better coffee machine - oh and to stop the paper cuts!"

Thanks to Jacqui Cattle and Josh Williams for their support.

GF SMITH

»gfsmith.com

»Lockwood Street HU2

»01482 323 503

»@gfsmithpapers

As a team we have good banter, and if you’re not family you get adopted in eventually. And you know what we say - we are fully inclusive, it’s all about merit and nothing about gender. As an independent you have to be good value for money. We’ve won and been nominated for awards for being the Best Pet Supplier in Yorkshire. So it’s official we are great!

"YOU HAVE TO HAVE A GAMBLING GENE TO MAKE A BUSINESS GROW"

LUKE BEECH AND THE POWER OF THE CONFIDENT INTROVERT

Luke Beech was recommended to EofUs as an HU3 artist ‘with an interesting way of working’. He describes himself as an artist and an educator and he is also a self-proclaimed introvert. Well…that had us intrigued.

As an artist. His exhibitions and performance explore themes of belonging, love, grief, acceptance, madness, queerness, success and the damage done to us when we break down. His website states ‘At times, his work can be dark and uneasy or open and raw. Sometimes, a little bit like life, it can be funny and absurd too.’

As an educator. He is one of the Founders and Co Directors of the Feral Art School, described by Luke as ‘an alternative art school. Very much alternative.’

He is also an art tutor in prison education and has experience of working in mental health units too. As an introvert. An introvert is someone whose batteries are not charged by social interactions or people, but rather by silence.

EofUs Artist Investigator, Kate Genever, went to find out how all of this comes together.

Luke, what is your work as an artist about?

It’s about creating artistic languages to help me word some of the things that I struggle to word. Over the last few years I've had quite a rough experience of

LUKE’S TOP TIPS FOR RECOGNISING AND UNDERSTANDING INTROVERTS

1 An introvert is someone whose batteries are depleted by social situations and not charged. Instead we draw power from ourselves. Often people see it as something that needs curing - I think that is nonsense.

2 Never tell an introvert they are wrong to sit quietly or not engage.

3 Always ask permission of an introvert – invite them in … remember they might not want to come.

4 Introverts love silence and sitting in silence – they know that silence can be difficult for others, but they know listening creeps in… deep important listening to self, environment, the world.

psychosis and madness and there are things that get lost in mainstream language. They're often lost in cliché’s and mantras…it's easier to create a piece of artwork or performance where people can look at it go, oh I get that. I aim to make things that make me feel understood and maybe help other people feel like there are kindred spirits out there.

You're making work to communicate a personal experience?

Yeah…and no. The communicating is there even if sometimes it's to myself…a sort of catharsis in making. I'm still unpicking what I went through and I'm not an expert on myself. It’s heavy stuff and I'm still working things out. And I really struggled to create during it all. Often there's an assumption that people in these psychotic spaces are super productive, making all of this amazing art. But I was scared of myself and what was going on, and I didn't feel in control. It stopped me making art for what felt like forever.

The first piece I made after was also my first performance - the energy that came out for that was right. At that time I talked a lot about spoons. You know, sometimes I’ll only have so many spoons of energy each day and I don't know what I'm going to have that day, or the next. So I'm different coming out of that experience. More self-aware.

You are a self-declared introvert. Is stepping forward natural for an introvert?

I see myself as confident and introvert. There can be confident and shy introverts, as well as confident and shy extroverts. My energies are spent on people and I think about how many spoons are needed for tasks I undertake - this really helps me navigate with who and how I spend my time.

Quite early on, when I was back at the art school I got chosen for a thing and had to do a massive presentation. I was just a little student and I was like, I'm gonna have to do this. Again there's a performance element to that. I had to sort of put myself in a space and dissociate. In the prison teaching I have a voice that can command the room, which isn't my voice. I tell a lot of them guys I don't shout, I can shout if I need to, but you know it's something that just isn't me.

A lot of people see introversion as something to be cured. Or they think that person isn’t alright there by themselves. It's always an extrovert that sees that and tells us there's something wrong with it. I'm quite confident and happy by myself and I like being around peaceful people, quiet people. I love sitting in a room and not talking to someone as well. Being with somebody in a room in silence. I know many people find that really, really uncomfortable.

What do you notice in that silence?

Noise. It’s a way of creating a certain dominance or control of that space. Hamja Ahsan's Book - Shy radicals, is a very small book with some lovely illustrations and in it he talks about extrovert extremism and how we live in extrovert dominated societies. Due to their very nature, extroverts need noise. But we don't, and what he proposes is a manifesto that lets us lean into what the introverts need.

What are the people that are filling the silence missing out on?

Listening skills. I think sometimes if you're creating too much noise it can be hard to listen to the nuances. I wish people could be more confident in hearing their own voice rather than other peoples.

If you could tell an extrovert anything, what would you tell them?

Shut up. Listen, listen, listen, shut up and listen. Worry less.

I’m also thinking about why you're gifted as an educator, with your particular cohorts, in very particular spaces. Perhaps you empathise but also model, to people who don't have a voice, who don’t have all sorts of things in place, a sense of control?

Is your personal experience a driver for the Feral and working in prisons?

Yeah, it definitely contributes to it. I talk about agitating a lot. Just agitating things towards

FERAL ARTS SCHOOL YOU DID

What is the Feral Arts School?

The Feral is an alternative art school. We try to get the crap out the way that comes with the over bureaucratization of the art schools. But at the core of it is good quality art teaching, for everyone.

Can anyone join the Feral or can people just drop in?

So we have stock courses that we run across the year and we recruit for these. The bottom line is we need to make enough money to pay the tutors well and to cover the materials. We have a sliding scale for people who can't afford and we do get bits of charity grant money as well. So, we can subsidise new courses just to test the water.

The Feral is a co-operative and we run a membership model. We open that up to people who are showing interest. If people come back a couple times and are looking at progressing, we ask if they would like to become a member. It’s a nice thing when people do… there’s a funny ritual as you have to pay a pound!

Why would people become member?

You get access to the AGM and get elected onto the board, which lets people give input into the structures that govern the Feral and how it runs.

Can I join as a beginner having done no art? Yeah you can come as a complete novice. We run courses at different levels. We’ve also got different pathways for progression, but these are more like in a horizontal way. You can either move through different courses or we can move you towards having more of an art practice etc. After a few courses, we even see if students want a 24 hour access studio. There's lots of options.

HUMBER STREET GALLERY TOUR

Our day trip to Humber Street began at Chiltern Primary School. We left directly after Chat and Choose - a gathering that enables parents to catch up, access Fair Share food, health information and grab a cup of coffee. Chiltern’s amazing Liza Grieg and Rachel Gledhill walked us via various HU3 side streets all the way to the Marina. A route that helped us discover new places like where to buy good food and what happens in dry docks.

First stop was Humber St Gallery, where we drank lovely coffees while being introduced to the gallery's history. Most of us had never visited before, so we were a bit nervous, but a trip to the roof terrace [which is worth the stairs!] helped us feel at home. The exhibition New Contemporaries at the beginning left us a little puzzled, but as we started to talk and explore the artwork many of us were reminded of cultures, traditions, experiences from our pasts. Or homes in Ethiopia, Sudan and the Congo that now seem far away. Marcus the gallery guide told us more about the artists and he said he even learnt stuff

Next stop was FORM Shop and Studio, where owner Alice gave us a nice welcome and introduced us to artworks and artists made by people just like us. We even discovered the shop makes a puzzle of Hull, which made us laugh.

FIND OUT MORE

»More of Luke’s ideas and reflections on introversion: yumpu.com/en/document/ read/66186385/field-notes-two

»A quiet person’s guide /the art of shouting quietly, Pete Mosely: ipetemosley.com/aquiet-persons-guide

»Shy Radical film directed by Tom Dream: shyradicalsfilm.com

»Hello Lydia: Sign up and get reflective ideas on all the tricky stuff in life. hellolydia.co.uk/ connecting-conversations

YOU CAN

All this looking had made us hungry, so at Trinity Market we bought tasty pizzas from Alessandro’s, eating them as we headed back to school for end of day pick up. A walk which let us reflect on how “we’d loved meeting new people and sharing experiences together” and that “we’d otherwise be sat at home bored doing nothing or cleaning... but had now discovered free, friendly places to take the kids.” All of which made us “realise we’d seen a place through

VISIT

Humber St Gallery: 64 Humber St absolutelycultured.co.uk/ humberstreetgallery

YOU CAN

»FORM: 62 Humber Street heyform.co.uk

»Trinty Market: trinitymarkethull.co.uk

WE ARE THE UNDERDOGS

In celebration of the launch of Alec Gill’s Hessle Road book, which features over 200 black and white photographs taken during the 1970s and 80s of HU3, EofUs asks "of all the places you have travelled, why focus on HU3?"

Hessle Roaders like me are seen as Underdogs. I had an affinity with that. We were both seen as the same. Me because of being a cripple and for them there was this social snobbery that created a false image of drunken brawling fishermen and screaming fish wives. My work tries to show what's really going on.

When I was younger I loved Dr Who. I started a script for a new series I had imagined. The script slowly possessed me. I neglected friends, I cut off football, I stopped going out and I watched my Dad wasting his time studying the form. I kept thinking if I could spend all his energies and apply it then I could manifest his idea of studying into something good. So I finished my script and sent it off to the BBC. While I waited for what I thought would be success, I started photographing on Hessle Road and I spent time in the city library. Finding one day a book called The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. Both things made sense.

Nine long weeks later the BBC sent their rejection. I felt stupid as I reread it and saw the spelling mistakes. I thought that must be the reason they had turned me down. It reinforced everything I’d been fighting against and had been coping with. That rejection was terrible. School had told my Mum that they would save my embarrassment by not letting me sit the 11-plus, instead they sent me home. And if I did well at things I was accused of being a cheat. I was born with these hands and I was always small. I was often bullied and told I was a cripple, but I had my minders, Tony, Barry and Roger, who helped me do things those bullys thought I couldn’t do.

But those nine weeks had opened something up and I knew I had to get better at writing. So I enrolled on a set of evening classes and met two important teachers: Professor Clarke whose advice to ‘Specialise’ and ‘Embrace the freedom of the streets’ was instrumental in why I have spent my work focused on the Hessle Road community. And English teacher Lorna Selfe changed my life by introducing me to books. I’d never had books and there in her house she had hundreds. I had a future.

Alec Gill

MEET ME AT THE FOUNTAIN?

The fountain on Boulevard is a wellknown HU3 landmark. Which is why meeting in front of this colossal Sturgeon laden structure for the Architecture Tour made sense. Over French Fancies and led by Caroline Gore-Booth we learnt how old clay pits off Anlaby Road used to make the area's tiles and bricks. We found the edge of Coltmans Land marked by a carved stone still in position. We heard how the Boulevard had 512 Lime trees and 130 Oriental Planes planted along its length. We discovered Saner St was named after a John Saner, who had been a tailor based in Whitefriargate. And how a current resident at 114 Cotman has recently discovered a well.

The tour, advertised in Issue 2, brought reader Roger Crimlis to reconsider his family's past in the area. Sharing with us how four generations of his family had lived at Dunkeld Villa’s or 140 Boulevard.

“My Grandmother, Millie Crimlis bought the house in 1937, whereupon she, her sons, Bobby and my father David, moved in along with her parents. Millie’s husband, Zacharia died in 1932, allegedly after swallowing a fish bone. Leading Mille to set up a dancing school to make ends meet. 140 Boulevard was the perfect location, as the large ground floor could be converted into a dance studio with full-height mirrors, a horizontal timber bar for the dancers and an upright piano. My father would sometimes be the pianist, and his brother Bobby taught some classes. Possibly due to his dancing ability, Bobby was also a successful amateur boxer!

ALEC GILL

The family stayed in the house throughout the war. On two occasions all of the windows of 140 and the neighbouring houses were blown in during air raids. Another air raid sent a sizable piece of stone through the roof and onto the grandparents’ bed. To bring light to this dark period, Millie held weekly concerts for the Armed Forces. After the war my father worked for his two uncles on the fish dock. My mother moved in when she married my father. My sister was born there in 1958. My father, mother and sister moved out of Boulevard in 1960, leaving Millie who stayed until her death in 1969. I remember visiting and seeing a brass plaque on the outside that read “Millie Littlewood School of Dance”. Throughout the life of the school, Millie polished that plaque every morning."

DISCOVER...

Alec’s Hessle Road book written by Alec with Iranzu Baker. Supported by GF Smith and funded with a Kickstarter »lensculture. com/alec-gill

YOU DID

JOY RUMMAGE

On one of those hot summer days in 2022 a group called Murmuration held a Joy Rummage.

A playtime, an improvisation of puppets and musicians, a jamming in the humdrum, a feasting in the fear, a dancing in the dust... a love story of 2 snails, a handstand dance, a giant hairy egg… and much more all in West Park.

The puppets made from sponge, carved with scissors and meat cutters, covered in latex, scrim and colour, are easy to manipulate creatures. Creatures have any number of limbs, strange facial features and may be literal or abstract, so they best express what joy might mean to each creator.

During the Covid years, the experience of so many restrictions, the lack of convivial gatherings, and the general depletion, we missed colour, connection, collaborations, dancing, hugs, intimacy, comedy, and communal joy.

Joy Rummage aims to remedy some of this. Exploring individual emotion, movement and group interactions. We enjoy developing old stories and trying out new ones. We might make a duet with swanny whistles as the puppet long line dances. We enjoy interactions with the audience, some of whom try out a puppet. The sense of growing connections between us, them and our puppet or instrument is the something we most love.

Big thanks to Puppeteers Liz Dorton, Anna Hembury, Jade Seath, Ella Dorton, Paula Chearman, Daniel Arce, and Musicians Dan Seath, Nathan Kirby, Hal Newman, Charlie Eden and Antonia Walsh Liz Dorton

ROVING EYE

Many of you will already know George Norris, from this paper or via his Roving Eye facebook page. But we, at the Encyclopedia of Us, wanted even more people to see his brilliant photographs. So with George and local businesses we organised an exhibition in windows and on walls across HU3.

SEE GEORGE’S PHOTOGRAPHS

»The Ryder Social Club

102 Coltman Street

»Topcoloor 159 Hessle Road

»Corner of Wellstead Street and Hessle Road

»Hull Fishing Heritage Centre

270 The Boulevard

»Choppers Cafe 80 Goulton St

»Rayners 325 Hessle Road

»Halfway Hotel

490 Hessle Road

»Dairycoates Inn

580 Hessle Road

ELIJAH HEMBURY AND ELLA HARDY

Dear HU3,

Recently I have been feeling more inspired than usual. I credit it to turning my attention to the obvious. The sounds and sights of where you live become a part of your subconscious and through rediscovering these things, my area has quickly become a lot more meaningful. Here's what I’ve encountered...

I live on Spring Bank West - the side nearest Spring Bank - and the sonic environment here is enriched with the drone of transportation. Living on a main road for all of my life means that I have become somewhat uncomfortable with silence. If I was to open my window now within a few moments I would likely hear buses, trains, cars and potentially even the air ambulance coming in to land. This combination of movement and sound is like a pleasant white noise that reassures me that I'm home. On match days, I like hearing the chanting wash over so I know when to check the score. There is information in the sounds we hear. I find it relieving to think about people being busy moving around doing their things.

Next door to me is Jacksons and of course that brings a great deal of industrial character to the general soundscape. The beeps, buzzes and churns of machinery produced by this factory are familiar to so many and its position at the junction, looking like it was just dropped in there, gives it this peculiar identity that I really like. Its flat and wide appearance is simple yet charming and my inner-6 year old self has always been pleased with the amount of lorries parked in the centre. For me it's the spearhead of the street and in my 18 years of life here, it’s never really changed. Also, I’m acutely aware of what a privilege it is to live next door to a bread factory, the smell of bread is joyous.

Down the road from noisy Jacksons is, of course, the noisy Polar Bear, undisputedly one of Hull’s most iconic music venues. The Polar Bear stands as not only a characterful building but an output of sound that symbolises a bit of nightlife in HU3. To dance under a domed skylight is unusual and lovely and I find it to be a very intimate space. However, the best thing for me are the fragments of conversation you catch in the social area outside. Inevitably, you encounter some drunken, wayward chat but if it’s possible to look past that, you also get a glimpse into people's lives and routines.

Whether a group of people are meeting for the first time or catching up the same way they do week in week out. I like to see it happening. The existence of such a beloved social space being on my doorstep is also brilliantly fortunate.

Spring Bank, like many of the other major streets in Hull, has a wonderfully inconsistent assortment of businesses. If your to-do list required you to have some work done on your car, obtain a large amount of meat, buy a bargain wardrobe, purchase a specialist trophy and become skilled at bridge then I couldn't think of a better place. The buildings are equally incohesive too and some have aged better than others. The handsome tall ones with their traditional dormer windows overlook more tired properties such as the bust Iceland that looks like a vessel of nostalgia that we’ve all forgotten. Some buildings have undeniably cool features like basement access from the outside whilst others resemble just a box. I celebrate the street ‘warts and all’ as an example of what makes this area so good, regular people being part of a close knit community, making use of their surroundings.

It’s difficult to focus on sound when there's a lot of it kind of wafting together but small details make their way through the hum. On Spring Bank, kids in playgrounds, music in cars, small talk and the wind whistling through shop shutters are usually the most prominent noises. All of this is seemingly so simple but these sounds frame the environment and therefore our lives and that significance is inspiring. For me it gives me a vital sense of place. I am here, an inconsequential individual that is a part of a remarkable community.

Joe Dent