“The Toads are back in town”
That’s right, the Larkin Toads are returning to Hull before City of Culture 2017 for Toads Revisted! Toads revised is to celebrate 5 years since the Larkin25 commemoration of the life and work of the poet, novelist and Hull University LibrarianPhillip Larkin.
Larkin with Toads was one of the more successful public art events that has been held in Hull in the last 5 years. It was popular with not only the local populous but people all across the UK as it won the silver Award for the VisitEngland Tourism Event of 2010.
Larkins Poem Toads was the inspiration for the colourful amphibian sculptures that enlivened the streets, and now its sister poem “Toads Revised”, provides the title for this light hearted reprise. As an expansion of this event there are a number of other works and events such as If Toads could Fly, Toad Tales & The Bike Library.
If Toads Could Fly:
This is an event where there will be a Large inflatable Toad will be “Flying” high into the sky from Wednesday 4th – Sunday 9th of August (weather permitting)
This event was born by the joint efforts of several organisations (including Roots & Wings). The end collaboration has resulted an 8ms long Larkin Toad with an entirely new decorative design created by Janette Dimitrova. The Flying Toad will float around the city from Wednesday 5th August ending up in Queens Gardens for the weekend.
You can catch the Flying Toad from 10am (Launch time) until 6pm each day at:
Wednesday 5 August
Holwell Road, opposite North Point Shopping Centre, Bransholme HU7 4EE
Thursday 6 August
Stonebridge Park, Greatfield, HU9 5BD
Friday 7 August
Massey Playing Field St George’s Road, Hull HU3 3PX
Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August
Queens Gardens, Hull HU1 1HJ
Toad Tales:
Toads Tales was a writing competition that was held earlier in the year for writers and wordsmiths to pen their imaginings of
what the Larkin Toads have been doing for the past 5 years since there initial display in Hull back in 2010. The best of these short stories, would be created into an illustrated anthology for children.
In the end over 300 writers sent in there scribbles, poems and stories. Out of which the best have been selected and created into the Toad tales, story anthology which has been beautifully illustrated by Hull artist, Alice Beasley.
The Book itself will be published by wrecking ball press on the 5th of August and available for purchase it for £8.96 From Hull Central Library.
The Bike Library:
As Larkin was a cyclist, as well as a poet, this stemmed the idea of creating a Bike Library, which with the efforts of both Artlink ,the Park Bench Theatre and East Coast Bicycles will manifest itself as a beautiful vintage bike with a library trailer full of poetry books! the bikes will be available to the public at the following times and locations throughout the city:
Saturday 22 August
1pm – 2.30 pm Humber Bridge Country Park
Saturday 22 August
4pm – 5.30pm The Pavilion, King George V Playing Fields
Saturday 5 September
1pm – 2.30pm by Andrew Marvell Statue, Trinity Square
There are many many more events going on around he Toads this year, you can read them all in full on the Toads Revisted Website
Until next time, read more books!
Between|the|Blurb 