A station seat to ponder the poet

A new bench, which will be unveiled in Paragon Station in Hull, will allow people to take a moment to contemplate a statue in Philip Larkin’s memory. The circular teak bench will be installed on December 2, two years after Martin Jennings’s 7ft bronze statue of the poet was revealed.

Carole Collinson, from the Larkin Society, said people were welcome to witness the unveiling and listen to a couple of poems being read.

She added: “December 2 is the anniversary of Larkin’s death and this is our third ceremony. We are trying to make it an annual event which connects Larkin with the city. When we were raising money for the statue people were extremely generous and we raised slightly more than we needed. So we are slowly using that money up.”

Larkin moved to Hull in 1955 when he was appointed librarian of the city’s university, a position he held until he died 30 years later.

Ms Collinson said: “I don’t think he sat and contemplated – I think he was always too much in a rush for the train.”