When the Coffee Shop Culture (henceforth known as CSC), hit Hull a couple of year ago, I was somewhat cynical about its appeal in this tea swilled northern town. Yes I knew all the students would flock to such establishments, with their faux "friends" décor. But would your average 'ully keep the trade going when the students disappeared each summer, I thought? The answer to my quandary was yes they would and did survive, and the people of Hull took to CSC, like ducks to water. Now these places are springing-up all over the city, but the main drag for Hull's CSC is Newland Avenue. Here there are is a CSC to carter to all tastes, big, small, or obscene! We are now a truly a 24/7 city wired on caffeine, and I have become a coffee snob. No longer will I partake in a cup of instant, only the real stuff will do me. From ultra strong (keep you going all day) double espresso, to big an OTT cappuccino served in a bowl you could bathe in, with a side order of 'penny-goodies'.

It's all good stuff, give it a try you won't regret joining the CSC in Hull. But I do think that we should campaign NOT for 24hr alcohol to be served in this city, but 24hr coffee on tap. This city will only be truly COOL when we attain a 24hr CSC. And after all who needs sleep? As the song goes   "I'll sleep when I'm dead!" Rich Author. Email : Rich@thisisull.com

Coffee Shops Reviews - Wired Cyber Café and Network Gaming Centre, Cottingham Road, Hull By Starpaw.

	The world is turning digital, it's true. WAP mobile phones, digital televisions and palmtops, the works. Computers are here to stay and the net is playing an even larger role in our everyday lives. Once the domain of geeks and computer fanatic's, cyber space Read more...

Coffee Shops Reviews - Virtually Perfect Cybercentre Café, 17 Paragon Street Hull

	From the ashes of the defunct Sydney Scarborough building rises Hull's one and only cyber cafe. It's decked out with huge dark blue comfy sofas, massive ultraviolet waveform artwork adorning the walls and Avril Lavinge's Sk8er Boi playing out through the sound system. Liberal amounts Read more...

Relax
By the railway bridge on Newland Avenue
Opening Times:	7.30 am - 5.30 pm 7 days a week.
	Relax opened in March of this year. Its owner, Andy Smith, had no background in catering but wanted a change of lifestyle that would be less stressful than his previous job as project manager. That explains the name then! Certainly, when Double Vision visited the couple playing chess typified the unhurried air of the place. Although Andy says that Relax is not particularly targeted at students, it does sponsor the Student Drama Society and has recently won a tender at the University to run a catering outlet at its Sports Centre. Leather settees, a limited range of snacks, good coffee and daily newspapers on hand make Relax very- well, relaxing.

Zoo Vegetarian Cafe
808, Newland Avenue 494352
Opening Times:	10 am - 6 pm Monday - Saturday.
	Zoo is behind Skeltons bakery and is surprisingly easy to miss, even with the banner over the side road which lead down to it. It has been open for six years now, so Pauline its co-owner told me, and for the last 3 years the upstairs room has been in use as well. Its popularity is hardly surprising, given the lack of local competition for good food, in particular vegetarian and vegan. It's not the cheapest place to grab a snack but the food is always fresh and well presented and the coffee excellent. In the summer my favourite item has to be their milkshake which are on offer in one flavour only - that of the fruit of the season. Consisting of just the pulped fruit and ice cold milk it's fab! Children are encouraged to put their scribblings and drawings up onto the walls and there's often music and noise. Because Zoo is a cafe rather than a coffee shop it's a bit more rough and ready - not somewhere for quiet contemplation but more for times when you want to feel included in the human race!

Planet Coffee
162, Newland Avenue 470056
Opening Times:	Monday - Friday 8.30am - 9 pm. Saturday 8.30 am - 7 pm. Sunday 10am - 5pm .
	Planet Coffee has been open for the last two and a half years and has very much a student ambience. Not surprising given that it's at the University end of the Avenue and has another branch in the Student Union. This is not to say it doesn't have a wider clientele, its owner Graham insists, and undoubtedly this must be true for it to be able to survive in vacation time. Indeed, it has plans to expand into the property next door very shortly. Free coffee refills are one of Planet Coffee's attractions - the decor and furnishings another. Hot snacks are available, for example Chicken Spicey Pasta at £1.95, and a wide range of coffees. A good place for people watching, particularly if seated outside. Photographs copyright  ©2003 , and courtesy of Rich. Thanks Brains.

Nightclub Reviews - Pozition, Wednesday Rock Night
	By Paul As a veteran of the Hull rock scene and regular of the rock night (Bug) at Room, I decided to check out the new venue. In the past the pre-Bug warm up was at Biarritz (George Street). Read more...

Music Reviews - Die for, Silence in the Streets, Mourning Wood - Adelphi 23rd December By Marcus Lewis
	I, like many others, began the night with disappointment at the news that The Freaks Union were unavailable to play, after being on the bill. However, it was two days before Christmas and I was determined to have my drinks and enjoy some live talent. I understood the bulk of the bands were .. Read more...

Music Reviews - SIT UP and Listen to Riley by Cilla
	Dave Robertson, Riley song writer has a way with words. You can just hear a ghost of a twang of his Liverpudlian accent come through. Just enough to melt one or two hearts, I suspect. And the tunes? Well, I can't stop listening. They stick in your brain. Sit Up, the single from their new EP is, to me, their most memorable song. The lyrics are simple; like the Sunday morning when you woke up .. Read more...

Music Reviews - Miss Black America at the Adelphi Wednesday 10th December By Cilla
	I was as always, in a blind panic - half an hour to get ready (unheard of - and a girl my age needs time to apply the slap!) - late news that Miss Black America were playing at the Adelphi - tonight - the band that apparently John Peel (my hero) had heralded as 'the next big thing' ... and the batteries for the camera still hadn't recharged from the its last outing .... Late again, but the Adelphi was really heaving - obviously more people read the Daily Mail.. Read more...

Music Reviews - DJ DEFUNKT AND BEATMASTER WRIGHT at the Adelphi by Carolyn
	Now then all! As usual a review or two from me - better late than never!! I hope that you are all well and have been partying hard to get into the Christmas Spirit this year. It's been a busy year, especially for all those involved in thisisull.com. It has literally gone from huge to massive for this website and there have been some fantastic events covered by all the reviewers. Read more...