Frogs and Toads

We hope everyone enjoyed our rugby revels last month – don’t forget to check out Facebook for photographs from the event. Also on Facebook, you will find the winners of our ‘design a rugby kit’ competition. We will be contacting them personally to sort out the prizes! 

Look out for the History Makers team at some of Hull FC’s upcoming home matches. We’ll be in the KC stadium lounge before the match against Leeds Rhinos on the 5th March.

But to this month’s family fun…
…and this Saturday (7th March) we will be exploring Hull’s poets and poetry. Hull has a strong literary heritage and we should be very proud of this. 

Toad in the Hull can be found outside the History Centre

Two well known poets, Philip Larkin and Stevie Smith, lived and worked in the city. Some of their most famous works were inspired by the local wildlife. For example, an unfortunate encounter Larkin had with a friendly hedgehog in his garden led him to write ‘The Mower’. 

Maybe you saw the colourful toads that used to decorate the city – perhaps you’ve seen the one we still have here outside of the History Centre. 


But do you know the story behind them?
Why not join us to discover this story, and to see how a frog came to star in one of Smith’s best known poems.

Be inspired by their poetry and get creative with your Lego builds. Or if you have a favourite poem, why not bring it along and use it to create something truly awesome!

When we were designing this event we got a bit carried away with Larkin’s poem ‘The Trees’…

See what you can come up with.

For the crafty ones amongst you, we will be drawing, sticking and colouring to create toad-shaped pictures inspired by the stories behind Hull’s poets. 

You can join us from 9.30am but the session ends at 12.30pm so don’t miss out. We would love to see you all there!

‘History Makers’ Team