Heartland

Above - that's a picture of Holy Trinity Church in the heart of my East Yorkshire village, I was christened in that church and there I delivered eulogies for my mother in 2007 and for my younger brother Simon in August 2022.

I took the photograph this very morning. It was the first time I had seen Simon's gravestone. There it is in the foreground just left of centre. I put the potted heather in front of it and some rocks I had brought specially from home to support the pot.

I have obscured our surname for purposes of confidentiality.

Luckily, the church door was open. A woman was busily cleaning therein but she kindly allowed me inside with my friend Tony who I had picked up in Beverley.

We saw the font where, as a baby, I was doused with holy water and a carved stone relic from the village's original church which stood at Hall Garth - a mile west of the village. It was called St Faith's but only its churchyard remains. It is a place that has always intrigued me.

Above, stone relic discovered in 1836 at the site of  St Faith's medieval church. On the side shown it depicts The Virgin Mary with baby Jesus, St Faith and St Catherine. Holy Trinity Church was not operational until 1844 - the same year that the dismantlement of St Faith's was completed.

After the church visit, we drove back to Beverley and thence to the "park and ride" west of Hull where we caught a bus to the football ground.

There we had the pleasure of watching our beloved Hull City beating Cardiff City by four goals to one though it never felt like a truly convincing victory. It's as if our new squad of players are still trying to discover each other and gel together. But it's a victory and we'll take it. Up The Tigers!

Algerian player Mohamed Belloumi scored two goals.

The game marked 120 years of Hull City's existence.