George the Iguana

When you tell non-UK folk that you live in Hull their expression tends to be quite blank. “Never heard of it! Is it near London?”

But tell an English person you live in Hull and their face will usually express something between pity and disgust. Sadly for Hull it rhymes with dull and it has been named the worst place to live in the UK. Bad times for us people who happen to live in East Yorkshire's “poor excuse for a seaport”.

So I've decided to document all the allegedly terrible things life in Hull has to offer!

Today I want to introduce you to a super cool Hull resident! Meet George the iguana (and his lizard friend whose name I don't know).

George and lizard friend at Pearson Park

The 15 year old scaly reptile has been living in the Pearson Park Victorian Conservatory since December 2005 when he was donated by a woman who didn’t have enough space for him anymore. Iguanas can quickly grow to be 6ft long. George's hobbies include sitting on a large birch trunk, sticking out his tongue and bobbing his head at irregular intervals.


The conservatory underwent major refurbishments for several months in 2011/2012 and George moved to East Park where he wasn't on public display. People started getting concerned about his well-being and for a while nobody was sure if he would ever come back. Luckily however, George returned to his West Hull home in Pearson Park and was greeted with celebrations on Older People's Day in October 2012 - hurray! :D