He may only be an inch tall and cream-coloured from top to bottom - but Ringo the miniature phone box is proving a big hit online.
The commemorative keyring, one of hundreds handed out by KCOM to mark UK City of Culture year, is now starring in a series of atmospheric photographs by Judith Doran.
Judith, who posts her pics online using the Twitter account @kitten71xx, has placed Ringo – so named by her social media followers “because he’s a keyring and a phone box rings” - in front of iconic Hull locations such as The Deep, C4DI and The Humber Bridge.
Bank worker Judith, of west Hull, says she has been inspired by 2017 to take up amateur photography as she explores all the City of Culture has to offer.
Although camera-shy herself – she says she’d prefer to be Hull’s answer to the anonymous artist Banksy – Judith is letting her stunning landscapes of some of Hull’s best-known views do the talking.
She said: “To be honest I never knew I was into art until this year. But seeing everything that’s happened so far has inspired me. It started with the fireworks and the Made In Hull show at the start of the year and I thought ‘this is incredible – what else is there?’
“I’ve been to the Ferens Art Gallery more in the past few months than I have in my entire life. I absolutely love it.
“Seeing the photography in there inspired me to have a go at taking my own pictures. I thought ‘if they can do it, why can’t I?’ I just use my iPhone, nothing fancy, but I’ve been really pleased with the results. I never plan the shots too much, so if they look good it’s really a happy accident.
“You do feel a bit self–conscious taking the pictures at first, but people seem to really like the end results and you get over the embarrassment pretty quickly.”
So far Ringo has appeared in locations including on the waterfront at Victoria Dock, at Burton Constable Hall, by the C4DI building and in front of the Weeping Window poppy sculpture in Queen Victoria Square.
“It was my friend Denise who first suggested I take a picture of my phone box, so it’s all her fault,” says Judith.
“The poppy picture was the first one I took and it just grew from there. It nearly went wrong early on when I took a picture of him down at the Marina. He fell off the metal bar I’d balanced him on and he didn’t miss the water by much. Now he’s firmly Blu Tacked down in all the pictures.”
Apart from being a burgeoning photographer, Judith is also spreading her wings into other cultural spheres. As well as attending The Flood spectacular at Victoria Dock, she also attended her first opera, Puccini’s Turandot, at Hull City Hall.
She’s also had some expert help in finding the city’s cultural hotspots.
“We were looking for the Museum of Club Culture on High Street and couldn’t find it, so we stopped to ask a man who was having a cigarette break. It turned out he was Martin Green, who’s the City of Culture boss.
“I told him it had inspired me to be more creative – and he said it was music to his ears!”
To mark the UK City of Culture, KCOM is looking for more great images of its miniature K6 keyrings in Hull’s scenic and cultural hotspots. If you have taken pictures of your “Ringo” that you’d like us to share on Twitter and Instagram, tweet us @KCOMhome
