John Edward Cooper’s Notes
Monday 22 July 2019
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[2019] The Deep, Hull …It was well after 9.30am when we left home, so we didn’t have long to wait at the St. Hugh’s Avenue bus stop. Unlike on 4 May 2019, there were no vehicles parked on the cycle lane (more specifically, at the bus stop); so our seeing the bus, its stopping, and our boarding (09:55) were unhindered.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 09:54:42 Arrival of the №250 “Humber Flyer” bus  Monday 22 July 2019 — 11:21:50 About to cross the Humber Bridge  Monday 22 July 2019 — 11:45:52 Shortly after arriving at Hull Paragon Interchange After we arrived, and had used the loo in the station (or to use Hull parlance, “in station”), we made our way directly to The Lion and Key.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 12:11:52 The Lion and Key, 48 High Street, Hull  Monday 22 July 2019 — 12:16:02 The Lion and Key, 48 High Street, Hull There were at least three beers from their in-house brewery, and the woman who was serving offered me “try before you buy”. The problem was, that the small quantities of liquid that she drew had been in the room-temperature pump, not the cellar-cool barrel, so they were warm and not fresh-tasting. I opted for the last one, CatHead Summer Blonde, 4.2% a.b.v., which in fact, when I drank it cool and fresh from the pint-glass, was a quite agreeable blonde bitter with a somewhat citrus taste. I had a further ½-pint before we were finished.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 12:19:02 CatHead Summer Blonde, 4.2% a.b.v.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 12:21:22 The Lion and Key, 48 High Street, Hull Again we had a wait before the food was served — not as long as last time, though. Janet had cottage pie, chips and peas, and I had a pepperoni pizza. There was a little pot of green pesto with it.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 12:51:50 Lunch at The Lion and Key, 48 High Street, Hull When the woman came to take away the plates and things, I commented, “Pizzas don’t come any better than that, anywhere.” Not only was it flavoursome, but also the base was cooked just right, so that when I cut a wedge, folded the outer edge double and held the slice up, the apex of the wedge was self-supporting.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:22:50 Poster promoting “XL” Ale, from the Catterall & Swarbrick brewery, Blackpool They don’t do desserts in the pub, so afterwards Janet and I wet to the nearby Riverhouse Coffee Co., across High Street from the pub, just in Scale Lane, where she had some carrot cake and I had a black coffee.  Riverhouse Coffee Co. Image capture: Aug. 2018 © 2019 Google  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:31:48 Riverhouse Coffee Co.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:32:24 Dessert at the Riverhouse Coffee Co. Then, skirting to the left of the pub, we went to the end of Scale Lane, crossed the River Hull by means of a swing bridge, then turned right and continued as far as The Deep.  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:41:12 Scale Lane Swing Bridge, a footbridge linking Scale Lane and Tower Street over the River Hull  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:42:28 Scale Lane Swing Bridge  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:46:26 Old cobbled road under Roger Millward Way  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:47:02 Poppies growing on the road  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:48:18 Overgrown old cobbled road  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:48:56 River Hull tidal barrier  Monday 22 July 2019 — 13:52:08 The Deep I handed over at the ticket office the e-mail that I printed yesterday.  The clerk wanted to see the other of the two persons; so Janet also had to present herself, before he issued us with two tickets. 
 
Tickets 
Invoice 
Visitor Guide, pages 2 and 3 We opted to climb the eight flights of stairs, rather than ride in the lift, up to the third floor, where the exhibition commenced. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:08:56 The Deep: initial live exhibits 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:09:22 The Deep: initial live exhibits 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:11:44 The Deep: initial live exhibits 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:12:48 The Deep: introduction theatre The exhibition proper was seen by descending a series of ramps. The first two were the “Awakening Seas”, showing the development of life in the oceans over 4 billion years. “The handrail on your right,” the Visitor Guide booklet said, “is a time-line. 1cm = 1 million years. You won’t find humans until the last few centimetres!” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:14:46 “Awakening Seas” There were a number of screens displaying quite effective 3D animations. I photographed the Pliosaurus and the Dunkleosteus. The videos were on a repeating loop; that’s why the the photos below are not all displayed in the order that I took them — if I missed some action, I waited for it to be repeated. Particularly effective was the pliosaurus “breaking through the screen”. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:17:24 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Pliosaurus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:17:42 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Pliosaurus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:16:40 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Pliosaurus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:17:00 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Pliosaurus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:21:24 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Dunkleosteus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:19:40 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Dunkleosteus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:21:02 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Dunkleosteus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:20:06 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Dunkleosteus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:21:14 “Awakening Seas”: 3D animation: Dunkleosteus 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:24:04 “Awakening Seas” (continued) 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:22:36 “Awakening Seas”: fossil wall 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:23:16 “Awakening Seas”: fossil wall 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:25:24 “Awakening Seas”: fossil wall 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:26:18 “Awakening Seas”: fossil wall Apart from the live exhibits in small tanks near the start of the exhibition, the first substantial live collection was the “Lagoon of Light”, “reflecting the diversity of aquatic life found in and around the islands and archipelagos of the Western Pacific.” This was followed by “Coral Reef”. I managed to photograph some of the “hundreds of colourful tropical fish”, but the “rays and small sharks” were too quick for me. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:28:36 The Deep: Mudskipper 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:37:00 “Lagoon of Light” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:39:42 “Coral Reef” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:40:04 “Coral Reef” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:43:42 “Coral Reef” The ramp turned a corner, on the inner side of which was “Coral Reef”. The outer side overlooked a penguin enclosure. The penguins alternated between swimming elegantly in the water, and waddling awkwardly ashore. One, however, remained ashore, stationary. One of the staff pointed out that it was incubating a chick. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:45:34 Penguin enclosure 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:47:06 Penguin enclosure 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:47:26 Penguin enclosure 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:47:36 Penguin enclosure 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:47:44 Penguin enclosure 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:49:16 “Coral Reef” (continued) 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:49:28 “Coral Reef” (continued) 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:54:08 “Coral Reef” (continued) 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:54:20 “Coral Reef” (continued) 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 14:57:04 “Coral Reef” (continued) At “Endless Ocean”, I failed to photograph the sharks, rays and swordfish, but I did manage to snap a couple of sea turtles. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:02:28 “Endless Ocean” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:02:58 “Endless Ocean” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:09:02 “Slime” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:10:20 “Slime”: Blue Poison Arrow Frog 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:15:06 “Amazon Flooded Forest” The way through “Kingdom of Ice” led back to the penguin enclosure, this time seen through glass at the level of the water, so one could look both above and below the surface. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:16:22 “Kingdom of Ice” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:18:18 Penguin enclosure, viewed from the “Kingdom of Ice” level A staircase then brought one down to “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers”. This was an atrium, surrounded by live exhibits of various sizes from the world’s major river systems, e.g. Mekong, Amazon. Principally, the purpose was to promote awareness of the threats to these habitats by human activity: agriculture, deforestation, mining, dams, etc. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:23:38 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:26:16 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:27:18 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers”: Red-Bellied Piranha 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:28:38 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers”: Axolotl 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:29:42 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:30:14 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:31:02 “Deep Blue One: Living Rivers” Finally, one came to the transparent “Tunnel”, passing through at a 10-metre depth while the aquatic life swam by all around. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:33:12 “Tunnel” 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:35:34 “Tunnel” I assumed that if we had started at the top, we would finish at the bottom; and I became quite agitated to find that there was no way out. There was a long queue for a lift, and there were stairs — but I found, dismayingly, that these were only to go back up again. Janet spoke to a staff member — in fact, the one who’d pointed out the penguin chick — and she led us through staff-only/emergency-exit doors and a corridor to where we’d come in. (I promised myself, though, that I’d never set foot in that claustrophobic hell ever again. Whether I’ll keep that promise, remains to be seen.) From there, we made our way westwards across the River Hull. 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:42:16 Millennium Bridge and River Hull tidal barrier 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:43:18 Millennium Bridge across the River Hull 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:43:48 River Hull tidal barrier 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:45:04 View back east across the River Hull: The Deep 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:45:14 Short extra span of the Millennium Bridge Time was, that when one arrived at Hull by the Humber ferry, one would turn left into Queen Street, walk northwards, and without interruption continue through Marlet Place onwards, passing the “King Billy” statue and the church. Now, that way is severed by a very wide and very busy dual carriageway. There are pedestrian-controlled crossings, but these cause lengthy delays because the filthy, polluting automobile parasites are given excessive precedence over the poor, powerless pedestrians. Anyway, finding ourselves in Queen Street, that’s the way we went. 
3D view from Google 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:52:16 “King Billy” statue at the southern end of Market Place 
Monday 22 July 2019 — 15:53:14 Hull Minster We had in mind to get a drink at the cafeteria in the Minster. But when we got to the west end, we found that the church was closed on Mondays.… There was a №250 bus scheduled to depart [from Paragon Interchange] at 16:30; but, as Janet checked with the driver, it would terminate at Humberside Airport. So we went to the railway station waiting room, then got the 17:00 bus (boarded, 16:56).… [Back in Grimsby] we went to Casper’s ristorante/pizzeria.… I figured that a cheeseburger with a ¼-lb beef patty, with chips, would be manageable and not over-facing; and I was right. Janet asked for lasagne, but the waitress came back and regretted that they didn’t have any. She chose pasta spirals with chicken pieces in a pomodoro sauce; and was defeated by the quantity of it. Nevertheless, she did have a dessert with ice cream, and I had a coffee. There was a №5 bus waiting when we left — at this time of evening the №5 doesn’t terminate in Grimsby, but goes through to North Sea Lane — so we boarded that (19:47).… [2019] |
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