Hessle Rurd...

I'm telling you, this city really is going places. Hessle Road is in west Hull and was once home to everyone that's ever been connected to the fishing industry and the odd actor, like Tom Courtenay (whose family once worked for a living in, you guessed it, the fishing industry). Hessle Road was known for its community spirit, its down to earth folk and fine drinking establishments, like Rayners, where people used to entertain each other by taking their horses into the bar or knocking the shit out of each other in no-holds barred bare knuckle fighting contests. But in the 1980s the fishing industry had all-but disappeared and Hessle Road became home to dirty people who claimed state benefit and ate their children. They continued eating their children for 26 years, until high-class supermarket chain Lidl built a flagship store near the Hessle Road flyover, buying the land off an under-funded primary school and everything became happy and rosey and lovely again. So much so that, when I was on Hessle Road the other day, I noticed that we had a celebrity visitor. So, welcome to the city, Dr Dre, and your Volvo, and I do hope you and your rap entourage enjoyed the fish and chips from Challis's and the bargains to be had up and down a main thoroughfare that is, undoubtedly, enjoying a renaissance.

I vaguely remember a song about Hessle Road that was released on vinyl in the 1970s. The beginning contained the opening salvo: Way down Hessle Road, There are some mucky women. The rest, sadly, has faded from memory.

Listening: The Rifles - No Love Lost.

Tags: Dr Dre, Hessle Road, Hull, Lidl, Rayners