Portsmouth

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"Somewhere beyond the sea...my lover waits for me.."

As a young lad I had great eyesight for long distances. As we sat on the pebbled beach at Southsea it was always me that first spotted a slight bump in the horizon as the then huge incoming ocean liners, The Queen Mary, The Queen Elizabeth, The Mauretaina and many more coming home from New York down the Solent towards Southampton. I enjoyed being scoffed at for a good half an hour or more before others managed to notice them approaching with the telltale whisp of smoke from her funnels.

Later on I worked one summer holidays as a waiter at the Seaview Hotel on the Isle of Wight where we got a grandstand view of these great ships sailing ...read more here
A memory of Portsmouth contributed by DYLAN RIVIS

"Kiss Me, Hardy"

I've only been onboard the Victory once. It was enough to profoundly strike my imagination. I stood where Nelson fell ! It brings tears to my eyes to think of it now as I write. She is an incredible vessel. You can almost hear the cries and commands shouted out during naval battle.

And what a genius Nelson was. To break conventional naval tactics and completely fool the Spanish Armada by a frontal attack compared to a sail-by was unbelievable.

As a youngster I read all the naval stories I could and, having a great imagination was transported back to the days of sail. Being on the deck of the Victory I feel is a priviledge not to ...read more here
A memory of Portsmouth contributed by DYLAN RIVIS

THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD

This was to me, as a young lad, one of the best places in the whole world!

There was nothing more appealing to me than being at this great vantage point for the Portsmouth Dockyard. I could have stayed there all day watching our British Navy aircraft carriers, battleships, submarines and cruisers contrasted to the masts of our most famous ship of all time, the HMS Victory, watching the ferries plying back and forth to Gosport, feeling the spray from the often rough seas pounding the seawall and blasting up into the air.

Being on the Point was like being on the prow of a ship. I want so badly to go back there and hope someday I ...read more here
A memory of Portsmouth contributed by DYLAN RIVIS

THE MUDLARKS

We used to go down to Sallyport from 1954 -1958 ..there were a lot of local 'urchins' called the 'Mudlarks' who would stand in the knee deep, sloppy black mud below the pier to the ferry when the tide was out and people would throw them pennies which they had to find in the mud.They'd end up covered from head to foot. A lot of them had great characters and had developed great 'carny' skills to get people to toss them money.

My step aunt, Linda Goldsmith knew most of these kids 'cos she taught them at the nearby elementary school.
A memory of Portsmouth contributed by DYLAN RIVIS