Op-ed: Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were in my city Kingston-upon-Hull Wednesday. The visit is just one of many events during Hull City of Culture 2017.

I did not turn out to greet them but some people did.

Footage of the royal couple visiting the newly refurbed Ferens Art Gallery and the Holy Trinity church appeared on lunchtime local news. The couple also visited some local community projects.

It looked like a few hardy royal fans turned out to wish the couple well though you could hardly say huge crowds. Perhaps it was a decent turn out considering the weather.

It has been a damp, grey and cold day here in Hull today, Wednesday.

Prince Charles looked rather care worn in the footage but like us all he is not getting any younger.

But perhaps he had already had some bad news.

Wednesday afternoon media outlets reported the death of his goddaughter Tara Palmer Tomkinson.

She is described by the BBC as a socialite, former Sunday Times columnist and reality TV star.

Ms Tomkinson was aged just 45.

"Officers were called to her flat in Bramham Gardens, South Kensington, at 13:40 GMT. A woman in her 40s was found dead at the scene, the Met Police said."

She battled some health issues and drug problems in recent years. She partied hard.

The cause of death is not known at this time.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall later led tributes to Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, and said they were "deeply saddened", by her death.

​http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38911818
​https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/08/tara-palmer-tomkinson-dies-aged-45

"The cause of death has not yet been confirmed. However, the socialite had been battling a brain tumour since January 2016. She revealed she was fighting the illness after going for a set of blood tests after feeling run down.
​
Doctors discovered a growth in her pituitary gland which was non-malignant but was affecting the production of hormone prolactin." The Sun

City of Culture in the UK runs from January 1 until December 31. In 2017 it is my city Kingston-upon-Hull.

Hull is situated on the north bank of the river Humber in Yorkshire.

That means at this time of year it can be wet, cold and damp. Winds blow in off the North Sea and bring a damp chill at various times of year.

Hull stepped into the 2017 City of Culture limelight January 1 and did that with a bang.

A ticketed firework event New Year's Day evening was sold out pretty quickly meaning many local people were excluded.

Starting New Year's Day and for one-week only an impressive light show will tell the story of Hull, and it will do that at various outdoor locations around the city centre.

That event is also free to all but this time numbers are not limited.

From 4pm until 9pm or thereabouts from January 1 until January 7 the light show is available to all.

If you missed the fireworks and cannot make it for the light show check out footage below in this brief report.

New Year's Eve Hull experienced some late night booze related problems in the city centre. The Daily Mail popularly also called the Daily Fail happily shared that news with a headline worded to grab views - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4081198/Welcome-UK-s-Capital-Culture-Hull-descends-drunken-carnage-just-hours-marked-new-status-Britain-s-art-city.html

2019 - Check out Absolutely Cultured online for more details of post Year of Culture events

More:
http://www.onewomansomanyblogs.com/travel/kingston-upon-hull-city-of-culture-2017
​http://www.onewomansomanyblogs.com/travel/hull-museums-a-must-see-during-city-of-culture