Author and pop-fan Nick Quantrill uncovers the little-known links between a huge hit and Hull.

Green-fingered Lauren, of Humber Street Gallery, tells us how her garden grows.

You may think the answer is simple, but Middle Child actor Katie Singh explains the intricacies.

Writer, gentleman, scholar and acrobat Dave Windass heads to Hawthorn Ave to meet a brass aviatrix.

It’s the question on the mind of anyone currently driving down Spring Bank, so our aquatic conduit correspondent Angus Young dives into the causes.

If you happen to be driving on Spring Bank and Spring Bank West at the moment, taking a turn into Princes Avenue is a no-no. The reason for the temporary closure of the junction can clearly be seen in the shape of a big hole in the carriageways in Princes Avenue directly opposite the Old Zoological pub. The crater is the result of a recent burst water main which erupted almost exactly four years after a similar burst at the same spot. Sadly, burst water mains have become a familiar sight for motorists in Hull.

Name any main road in the city and you can probably guarantee there’s been a burst or two in recent years. So why do they happen?

According to Yorkshire Water, the most common reasons are the age and material of a particular pipe, weather conditions and changes in water pressure. Much of Hull’s urban infrastructure has its origins in the late Victorian or early Edwardian era, making it at least  eligible for an OAP bus pass. As such, old metal pipes typically suffer corrosion over time making them weaker and more prone to bursting. Equally, lead pipes are also at increasing risk of suffering leaks as they get older.

After a city centre mains burst briefly left Osborne Street underwater in 2018 it was revealed some the ruptured pipework was over 100 years old. Some of the recent bursts in Bankside have involved even older pipes. Extreme weather can also take its toll. While the potential for pipes to burst as a result of expansion of the water inside them freezing is well known, the more common cause of weather-related bursts involves changes in soil temperature and moisture in the ground. Both can cause the earth to shift and damage underground pipework. As Hull lies on a bed of thick clay, its porous nature makes the city even more vulnerable to geological mayhem.

Sudden fluctuations in water pressure within the system can also lead to pipes going pop. A sharp increase or decrease in pressure often triggered by periods of high demand can put stress on pipes and if they’re old, fragile ones then the chances of a burst are heightened.

To address the problem, Yorkshire Water says it is investing £406m over the next five years to replace over 1,000km of mains across the region – including Hull – to reduce leaks and bursts.

Lee Boshell, Yorkshire Water’s capital delivery programme, said: “We have already identified our first two years’ worth of mains replacement and we are working towards year three of the five-year programme. Having long-term visibility of the programme of works allows us to work closely with local authorities, highways and other utility providers, so that we can collaborate with them to renew mains and other services in one go. This is an important investment  for our business and customers and will help us to improve the performance of our clean water network to reduce leakage and supply interruptions for our customers.” 

Angus Young

Chronicler of everyday life Dr. Alec Gill talks about half-a-century capturing the same street.

Our maritime ceremonies correspondent Angus Young reports on a story that James Cameron entirely failed to put in his movie.

Joseph Boxhall knew his ship was in trouble when he came across a passenger holding a piece of ice. The Titanic’s fourth officer had been having a cup of tea in his cabin when an iceberg was spotted by a lookout. Moments later, as he made his way to the bridge, he felt a collision but it didn’t break his step.

Aged 28, Joseph was already an experienced seaman when the luxury liner’s maiden voyage came to an abrupt end. Born in Hull, he was a third generation seafarer who started his apprenticeship aged just 15 on a transatlantic crossing from Liverpool to Portland in Oregon. By the time he gained his Extra Masters’ certificate in 1907 after studying at Trinity House he had already sailed around the globe several times onboard ships owned by the Hull-based Wilson Line.

He then joined the White Star Line and was eventually offered a post as fourth officer on the newly-completed Titanic in March 1912, joining her for sea trials shortly afterwards.

Joseph’s encounter with the ice-carrying passenger came as he descended to the ship’s lower decks to check for signs of damage. In a memoir recorded in 1962 he recalled: “I took this piece of ice and walked along the upper deck on the starboard side to see where it had come from and there, just inside the ship’s rail, was a powdering of ice running along as though she’d compressed it.”

On a second search for damage he entered the ship’s mail room and saw clerks frantically pulling letters out of the racks, Standing at the top of a flight of stairs leading down to the main handling room he saw a mailbag float by beneath him. “I instinctively stooped down to try to pick it up. I just couldn’t reach it. I realised then it was serious,” he said.

Reporting back to Captain Edward Smith, he was ordered to start taking covers off the ship’s lifeboats before launching a number of distress rockets from the bridge. With all the rockets fired, Smith ordered him to take command of one of the lifeboats. “I tumbled into this lifeboat and we got lowered down,” he recalled 50 years later. “I found that I only had three of the ship’s crew – a steward, the cook and a sailor. I tried to count the passengers but it was difficult because they couldn’t speak English. I reckon I had about 30 onboard the boat. The captain looked over from the bridge and told me to go round to the starboard side to the gangway doors which were practically at the opposite side to where I was lowered. I had great difficulty in getting the boat round there. I was using the stroke oar standing up and there was a lady helping, she was steering the boat round the ship’s stern. When I passed round the boat to get to this gangway door her propellers were out of the water. I’m not certain if I didn’t pass underneath them.”

When Joseph reached the gangway doors they were crowded with people. “I didn’t dare go alongside because if they had jumped they would have swamped the boat. It was only small with no buoyancy tanks in her. I pulled away about a quarter of a mile. What struck me as being strange was that I couldn’t see any of the other boats.”

While his boat ended up on the ship’s starboard side, the other boats were on the port side. Seemingly alone in the ocean, Joseph and those in the boat could only watch as Titanic disappeared from view. “The sea was perfectly still when we left the ship. Every star in the heavens was visible but there was no moon so it was dark. For a long time we didn’t move the boat. You could see by the arrangements of the lights (on Titanic), all the lights were burning and you could see that she was going down. You could see that her stern was getting pretty low. We pulled, we got away clear of the ship and we just laid on the oars until we realised that she had gone and we heard all the screams. We couldn’t do anything. The screams went on for some considerable time.”

Their boat was eventually found by the British ocean liner Carpathia. They were the first of the 700 survivors of the disaster to be rescued. It’s estimated around 1,500 people lost their lives.

Joseph resumed his career with White Star until the First World War when he was commissioned to serve on a Royal Navy battleship before being given command of a torpedo boat based in Gibraltar.

After the war, he returned to White Star and eventually became a chief officer before retiring in 1940. Following his death in 1967 at the age of 83, his ashes were scattered at his request at the position he had calculated as Titanic’s final resting place.

In 2006 a plaque commemorating his life was placed on his former home in Westbourne Avenue.

Angus Young

Poet and second-hand obsessive Dean Wilson scours Hull’s bargain palaces to report on the best.

One of the larger but lesser-known libraries in the city is visited by former Saturday girl Amy Thompson.

Embroider Miranda Van Rossum tells us all about her remarkable project to turn the city into an artwork.