Hull (that is, the
English city) is known as the city of origin of such greats as
William Wilberforce,
John Venn,
Paul Heaton of
The Beautiful South,
Philip Larkin,
Maureen Lipman, and
me. Once a
thriving port catering to a booming
fishing industry, the place was heavily bombed in
World War II and never really recovered. Known as the `
north-east coast town' due to the way it was described (without using its real name) in
newsreels of the time.
Immortalised in the maxim "From Hull, Hell and Halifax, good lord deliver us", and not without good reason IMHO.
A nice place to visit, with plenty of pubs and cheesy nightclubs. But don't ever live there. I for one was glad to escape. A lot of my friends in the Royal Navy, on hearing I came from Hull, went on about how great a place it was, rendering me somewhat suprised until I realised that they come in on ships, spend a couple of days sampling the various pubs, and then go away again. They don't stay for long enough for the place to begin to grate (about a week, IME).
I heartily agree with Bagpuss and would recommend Ye Olde Black Boy to anyone. While you're there, sample a pint or three of the Black Boy Bitter. Then leave.
Albert Herring points out that
Paul Heaton was not actually born in Hull. It turns out he's from
Birkenhead. Nonetheless
the Beautiful South was formed in Hull,
AFAIK... and the video to
Rotterdam shows a lot of the town centre.