And Finally ... Last Words of 2006 From thisisUll.com (1/2) By Cilla (editor)

(1/2) (2/2)

2006 Homepage Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2.

Well, here we all are - the end of another year. Another year that's seen thisisUll.com brimming with fabulous content all contributed by you - the readers! Proof once again that there certainly is some incredible talent out there! As the 'production team' for the site, we're proud that thisisUll.com continues in its quest to be a true showcase of talent for the entire world to see. So it's time to acknowledge all of the writers who've taken the time out to contribute - making thisisUll.com the most unique and powerful way to get all the hidden talent that lies hidden away the chance to get seen!

It's truly gratifying that our belief in what we're doing can be reflected in the continued quality and quantity of written contributions.

thisisUll.com Geo map. Click to Enlarge map.

So we're celebrating - it's been a great year for the site - we've had a wealth of stunning pieces to publish and a significant increase in the number of people from all over the globe who regularly visit the site; over 1.3 million in the last 12 months. This month shows a record number - 120,000 which is incredible because December is usually the month where everybody's too busy or inebriated to bother!

There are things we'd love to do with the site and they'll all come in time. The results from our online survey earlier this year are yet to be published - they make some quite interesting reading! At the moment we're keeping going with what we think is the most important thing - providing a platform for any of you out there who have something to say. And that makes brilliant reading! Everything we publish is contributed by you - we have no paid journalists, writers or photographers. The site is made purely from and for the people who want to see their work on line - whether it be to complain about a pizza they had on their way home from town one night, to publicize an event or to build up a portfolio of work for a career move (see the featured writers/photographers page)!

2006 has seen the birth of some new local publications - notably Tenfoot City magazine and Hull Vibe website, proving that we've been right for the past 3 and a half years! It's certainly encouraging for the city to recognize that there's a need for more than one local news outlet. We'd like to encourage more of you to get writing - so make it a new year resolution and get out there - review an event, get those dusty old poems out of the drawer or get on with that novel you know you've always wanted to write and get them published! And as for all you budding mega pixel photographers, let us know you're there and let us get your work seen.

This year we've been lucky enough to have 3 students who've spent time on placement with thisisUll - Jo Allison and Bekki Stephenson, both Fashion Journalism degree students, joined us over Easter and produced some great features. Bekki has since been contacted to appear on the Vanessa Feltz TV show! She's also been approached by a fashion magazine who have asked her to be a columnist for them! Currently we have Carla on placement while she completes her NVQ in Business Admin. Special thanks to Jane who runs our office and does her best to cope amid the mayhem and to Michelle who lives and breathes all that is thisisUll.

With 85 music reviews under her belt this year as well as articles published in Sandman Magazine, she's unstoppable! Thanks and congratulations to Nick Quantrill, prize-winning crime fiction writer and Joe Hakim - the man who unquestionably says it like it is and is now doing it live, keeping it real - watch this space! And to Steve Rudd who's the most prolific writer on the planet - who's been noticeably absent recently, taking a break traveling - come back Steve, we miss you! Thanks Isabelle. You've been so much more than a driving force.

Continued..Next Page (2/2)

2006 Homepage Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2.

Going Down - Sunday 27th August 06 - Concrete Jam at East Hull Skate Park By Dick Spring
	With pretty much most people who would have been interested in an event like this decamped to Leeds Festival, it could have been deemed a major faux pas on the part of the organisers of the first Concrete Jam, to hold the event on this particular weekend. Concrete Jam was a one day festival of music and sport incorporating competitions for both inline and Read more...

Going Down - Live Music - Saturday 24th June 06 - Urban Artz Festival at East Park By Quiffy
	What does it take to get people to come out in Hull? A free concert and hundreds, not thousands, came out to enjoy the bands and sunshine. The event had a great ambience to it and everyone there seemed to enjoy the day. Paul from the White Room held things together with some in between band chat and introductions. The opening band were pretty hardcore Read more...

Going Down - Live Music - Saturday 24th June 06 - Urban Artz Festival at East Park By Michelle Dee Photo Gallery by Mo and Tony
	I arrived at East Park at around two in the afternoon just in time to catch Nat from the Johnny Go Go Go's finishing her set at the acoustic tent. She was singing about empty food cupboards, slugs and tight-fisted bosses. The three go hand in hand quite nicely if you think about it a minute. Natalie has been bathing her toes in the bohemian stream for the past year, Read more...

Going Down - Live Music - Saturday 24th June 06 - Foghorn Sound System at the Urban Artz Festival By Benjamin Woodling Photographs by Barry Thompson, Focal Image
	Seemingly beamed down from a parallel planet of sound, the enigmatic Foghorn Collective deliver an afternoon of house music, deep and progressive and trancey and trippy, to the good people of East Hull. Lee is scattering beats into the sunshine when I arrive. His set has an energised party vibe. Next door a younger crew have established their own dance tent Read more...

Going Down - thisisUll.com 2005 in Pictures.
	thisisUll.com wants to thank all the contributors for their work in 2005. Without their participation this website could not be possible. Over 100,000 people a month from over 100 countries are seeing Ull at it's very best with over 4,000 pages of superb content. Check out this 7 page picture gallery of home page pictures for January to December 2005 for you to enjoy. Read more...

Going Down - Hull Mela Festival Sunday 31st July 2005 by Jane Foster
	This year saw Hull's first ever Mela festival held at Pearson Park. A Mela is a traditional festival which originates from India. A welcome event (especially as there was no Grassroots festival this year), it brought together and celebrated the diverse communities of Hull. It was a successful day, well attended and enjoyed by both the public and the performers. Read more...

Going Down - Ella Street Festival Saturday 9th July 2005 by Jane Foster
	As a resident of Ella Street I was pleased as punch to hear that this year we would be holding our very own festival, open to everyone. A group of residents had got together and organised this - well done to them all. About a week ago the banner and bright bunting went up, and the street held its breath waiting for this very special event... Read more...

Going Down - Cycling into Poverty History Monday 27th June 2005 By Martin Deane
	"Don't tell the other towns, but Hull was the best reception we ever got!" Bright and early, by some measures - ok, 9am - 24 cyclists from Hull gathered by the café and then made their way over the Humber Bridge. The River Humber, she what drains a fifth of the country and puts more freshwater into the North Sea than any other, looked absolutely Read more...

Going Down - The Make Poverty History March, in Retrospect By Bill Linton
	Well, the G8 season seems to have kicked off to a good start this year with Live 8 concerts internationally. Predictably, the Hyde Park concert gained almost wall to wall coverage on television and in the news, although media interest in the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh was somewhat less Read more...

Going Down - Make Poverty History Demonstration in Edinburgh 2nd July 2005 by Rich Mills
	Having been a political activist for many years now, when the Make Poverty History demonstration came around, we just had to do something about it. The result being that with a lot of work from Martin Deane collecting money in, we managed to send a hundred people up to Edinburgh for the day. Along with another hundred or so who made their own way up to Scotland, Hull was well represented. Read more...

Going Down - G8 2005 Demonstration in Edinburgh by Mike Rose
	On Saturday 2nd July we joined what turned out to be the biggest political demonstration in Scottish history. I've been on G8 demos before (Prague 2000 - Genoa 2001) but this one was the most diverse I have ever witnessed. The response from the churches was stunning. We had socialists, environmentalists, Christians, students, pensioners, and babies! Read more...

Going Down - Make Poverty History March In Edinburgh By Sarah Golightley
	There is nothing I loathe more than the sound of one of those wretched free ring tones on my mobile twanging away at 5 o'clock in the morning; especially when 5 o' clock is only three hours after I went to sleep following a night of clubbing at Fuel and accidentally locking my friends out of their own house. And then trying to let them in Read more...

Going Down - Make Poverty History Demonstration in Edinburgh 2nd July 2005 By Mo
	Martin Deane invited me along with 2 full coach loads of people from Hull to the Make Poverty History Demonstration in Edinburgh on the 2nd July 2005. It was an early start, 6am, because we had a long 6 hour trip up to Scotland (and another 6 hours back which I tried to forget) as we hopped aboard that drizzly morning. I'd packed my sandwiches, water etc and had a flask of hot coffee prepared for me by Cilla Read more...

Going Down - World Music Day at Queens Gardens Saturday 18th June 2005 By Mo
	This year's Hull World Music Day saw another impressive array of artists from across the globe. A warm sunny day was the perfect setting for various performances. These included the Shyani Ngcobo Band from South Africa, Persian band Flame, the Zeela Women's Choir from Liberia, Allah Lake Afro Mandinka from the Gambia, Shantha Rao of the Annapurna Indian Dance Company, Hako from Kurdistan Read more...

Going Down - Overnight Investigation of the Paranormal with The Spiritual Renaissance Group By Blair Ashworth Photos by Mo
	Insomnia must be a real advantage when you're investigating the paranormal. At least, it would have been if the night at Holmpton had passed slowly - but for me, and for Mo, it was an amazing and unforgettable experience, and I for one intend repeating it as soon as the opportunity next arises. So, there we were, the car drawing up to the guardhouse of the Holmpton bunker near Withernsea. Read more...