Strong Island

Vintage & Historical Portsmouth

Wymering Manor Trust

Following the success of Wymering Manor Trust’s launch in February, they are holding our first Community Open Day on Sunday 5th May 2013, 12-3pm.

The day will have the feel of a traditional village fete, with hot dogs and food, ice cream and candy floss, refreshments and music. Trustees will be an offering visitors’ talks on the Manor, exploring its history and plans for its future renovation, followed by a tour of some areas of this historic Manor. There will also be an opportunity for people to sign up to our volunteering scheme, placing the Manor firmly back in the heart of the community.

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Ben Schroeder Skating the Southsea Skatepark Bowl in 1990

Southsea Skatepark had a smallish bowled concrete bank and added extension at the end of the slalom hill since day one but in 1990 this was replaced with a deep concrete bowl (also called ‘The Pool’ at the time). This then new addition to the skatepark quickly grew popular with locals and visitors alike but few people got close to skating it the way visiting American pro skater Ben Schroeder did when passing through in 1990. Most people would wear pads to skate the deep concrete transitions back then but Ben smashed it wearing shorts and no pads and even ollied the transfer from bowl to bank, which immediately went down in to local skate folklore.

We got the heads up on some rare video footage filmed on the day of the Ben Schroeder putting down that trick and more in the bowl, have a watch and bear witness:

New Mary Rose Museum Announces Opening Day

The building of the new Mary Rose Museum is something we have been closely following on Strong Island right back to the design stage and with the completion of the major construction of the special building some months ago it was only a matter of time until the doors would be open to the public. The building has been built by local construction specialists Warings with a unique challenge of constructing the building not only around the medieval ship still undergoing preservation treatment but also over a medieval dock, a scheduled ancient monument.

In recent months the Mary Rose Museum team have been hard at work bringing the lions share of the artefacts out from storage to be placed on display, many of which for the first time and all in a bringing history life way. You’ll not only be able to see the artefacts but see how the crew of the ship lived on a day to day basis. The museum displays and the display of the ship are cutting edge, with a quite frankly amazing experience of traveling down through levels of the ship.

Tickets cost from £17 for the Museum and £26 for the entire Historic Dockyard including the Museum and go on sale from the 8th April 2013 at www.historicdockyard.co.uk or at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The museum is set to be a true jewel in the crown of the city and an internationally significant tourist attraction and historical resource. Can’t wait to visit it soon!

Watch the video HERE.

The Mary Rose Museum

Portsmouth Trolleybuses

The Portsmouth trolleybus network covered the whole of the city and the suspended power wires were a fundamental part of how the city’s roads looked for decades. We featured the history of the trolleybus in Portsmouth on one of our previous transport history articles (you can read the article HERE) but I found some amazing cine footage recently that really shows them at work, with interesting views of how the city looked back in the 50s. Always love seeing the power station too, we have an article on that coming up soon, as well as the return of our transport article series.

Mary Rose Museum Fundraising Appeal

The building of the new Mary Rose Museum is something we have followed closely since the first call for fund raising right at the start of it’s development and we are really excited to see the museum in the final stages of completion this year (built by Portsmouth based Warings). The museum are asking for members of the public to help give them the final funding push (just 0.1% of the whole budget for the museum) and will allow the Mary Rose Trust, a registered charity, to finish the museum that will preserve for many generations to come both the ship and the thousands of artefacts recovered with it from the seabed of The Solent.

You can donate towards the final total via the JustGiving website which makes it quick and easy and you can also include Gift Aid in your donation due to the Trust’s charitable status.

www.justgiving.com/maryroseappeal

The image below is from the Flickr account of the Dockyard and shows the first and last images of their timelapse showing the building of the museum.

Mary Rose Museum

Travelling on The Solent in the 1970s

This great 8mm cine film from the late 1970s shows what it was like travelling across the Solent at that time with the both the hovercraft and the Isle of Wight ferry. As well as seeing the busy Solent with all of it’s traffic this film also gives you a good look at the shoreline and skyline of Southsea and Portsmouth at the time. One particular difference that caught my eye was the old Portsmouth Power Station that was located down at the harbour with chimneys that dominated views of the city from all directions, just like the Spinnaker Tower does now. We’re working on an article about the Power Station at the moment, more on that soon.

Southsea in 1962

The Head Facebook Page the other day linked to this amazing cine film from 1962 shot around Southsea. This colour film really gives sense of the time and a sense of the summer too with loads of the old rides down on Clarence Pier, a real find.

Vintage Portsmouth RNLI Photos

A good friend of ours works at the RNLI HQ in Poole and recently sent over these photos that he dug up whilst working on a project.

The first 2 B&W photos show training manoeuvres out in Lee On The Solent and Langstone, and the colour photos are all of the Hayling Crew. No dates, but they look pretty 70/80s to me.

The helicopter photo shows helmsman Adrian West in command with crew members Steven Alexander and David Parker. The 2 Eastney lifeboats from left to right are maned by Helmsman William Hawkins, Dennis Faro and Kenneth George with Operational Swimmer Colin Beeston and the second lifeboat is crewed by Stephen Alexander and James Peplow with Operational Swimmer Graham Jewell.

The group shot is the Hayling Island crew dated 1920, with the image below of a 38SR Class Heyland boat out in Southsea dated 1882.

The photo of a lifeboat being horse drawn along Edinburgh Road in 1902 is simply incredible. It’s almost like it’s floating on a sea of Victorian hats. We’re not sure what the actual parade was concerning, but a quick history check tells me Queen Victoria died in 1901 so it may have been some kind of royal salute, or just for the shear showmanship of it alongside other frontline services.

Does anyone recognise names or faces? Be great if these photos had never been seen by the people in them and they appear all these years later to be brought to their attention.















Vintage Portsmouth: The Odeon Cinema in Southsea

The grand, maritime inspired art deco architecture of The Odeon cinema on the corner of Highland Road and Festing Road made it one of the most striking buildings in both the city and the south coast. The cinema was opened in 1937 and was the height of luxury at the time, built to accommodate 1,700 customers with ample leg room plus a grand foyer and balconies. It later changed it’s name to the Salon in 1977 and in 1981 was changed to two screens. Like many smaller cinemas at the time the cinema was hit hard by the growth of home video and sadly closed in 1985 and then demolished. The space where the cinema was located is now part of the grounds of Craneswater Junior School. A real pity such a beautiful cinema such as this was not saved as old cinemas have been in other towns and cities such as The Dome in Worthing.

The photos below show the exterior and the interior and they belong to Portsmouth City Council and the John Maltby collection, which belongs to English Heritage.

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea by John Maltby (English Heritage)

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea by John Maltby (English Heritage)

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea by John Maltby (English Heritage)

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea by John Maltby (English Heritage)

The Odeon Cinema in Southsea - The Salon in 1978

South Parade Pier – Photographs

The public auction of South Parade Pier is fast approaching – 12th Dec, with a guide price of £190,000 – £210,000. Sold via Clive Emson and written up as ‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE SUBSTANTIAL FREEHOLD VICTORIAN PIER FOR RESTORATION’. Further details via the website. BBC South featured the story of the sale earlier in the month and even though there is enormous potential for usage, the restoration costs will be in the millions. With the right vision and support this could be transformed into the beautiful attraction and venue it once was.

Over the years many photographs have been taken photographs of the pier and here is a small selection featuring work by Paul Gonella, John Scriven, Rusty Sheriff, Rich Heath, Andrew Whyte and John Illsley.

South Parade Pier

Pier sunset 2

South Parade Pier

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South Parade Pier // long exposure // welding glass

South Parade Pier - Sunset Dog

Features

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Strong Island & local artist When We Were Cows present ‘Southsea in an Instant’ an instant photography afternoon walk where anyone with a camera that uses Polaroid, Impossible Project or Fuji instant film are welcome to get involved. We will be exploring Southsea seafront from 1pm on 18th May with our instant photography cameras, starting off at The Bridge Tavern Pub at The Camber in Old Portsmouth. We’ll then make our way to The Hot Walls and then along the Millenium walk and then the Prom to South Parade Pier.

From the pier we’ll make our way to Albert Road and we’ll then be holding an instant, pop-up exhibition with the photos taken during the walk in Little Johnny Russells from 5pm to 7pm. We’ll then put the photos up on our upcoming exhibitions archive section of the Strong Island website soon after.

If you want to get involved simply pop along to The Bridge Tavern from around 12:30 to 1pm, the more the merrier and all that. Look forward to seeing you there!

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Strong Island & local artist When We Were Cows present ‘Southsea in an Instant’ an instant photography afternoon walk where anyone with a camera that uses Polaroid, Impossible Project or Fuji instant film are welcome to get involved. We will be exploring Southsea seafront from 1pm on 18th May with our instant photography cameras, starting off at The Bridge Tavern Pub at The Camber in Old Portsmouth. We’ll then make our way to The Hot Walls and then along the Millenium walk and then the Prom to South Parade Pier.

From the pier we’ll make our way to Albert Road and we’ll then be holding an instant, pop-up exhibition with the photos taken during the walk in Little Johnny Russells from 5pm to 7pm. We’ll then put the photos up on our upcoming exhibitions archive section of the Strong Island website soon after.

If you want to get involved simply pop along to The Bridge Tavern from around 12:30 to 1pm, the more the merrier and all that. Look forward to seeing you there!

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Strong Island Clothing Co X Portsmouth Supporters Trust T-Shirt Available for Pre-Order

As you are probably well aware from reading the news recently, the Portsmouth Supporters Trust succeeded in their bid to take control of Portsmouth FC making it the biggest community owned club in the UK. It is a long and hard fought victory by the fans that have endured years of bad fortune, bad news and bad performances and a couple of the SI crew have seen most of them! PST’s aim is to bring about responsible, democratic representation at Portsmouth Football Club and so help promote the highest standards of transparent governance, accountability and embed Portsmouth FC deeper into its community through greater communication and co-operation with its fans.

We contacted the PST back in November last year to put forward our idea of doing a Strong Island PFC edition T-shirt to raise money towards buying a share in the club. The PST warmly welcomed the idea and we are pleased to say we are now putting our plan into action.

Strong Island is keen to get behind the trust as are many others. We’re going to pledge £5 of every limited edition SI X PFC tee sold towards Strong Island buying a share of the football club, therefore financially helping PFC in it’s aim to become stable again and continue to be a hugely important aspect of the city.

The design itself is a re-imagining of the common elements from the iconic Portsmouth FC logo from the 1980s and the Strong Island logo, with two swords in place, each dated with the club’s FA Cup wins. The Strong Island Clothing Co. items are normally hand screened in East London but for this particular tee they are produced literally just down the road from Fratton Park and will be at a special price of £15 (plus P&P).

No matter if you are passionate about football or not, we hope this tee is a way of showing support for a club that is now a beacon to the rest of the country for a city and a community that strives to work together for the better.

To pre-order the t-shirt click on the link below. Tees will be back from the printers soon and we hope to have orders in the post by the end of the month, if not sooner.

Strong Island Clothing Co. X Portsmouth Supporters Trust T-Shirt

Anglepoise, Strong Island and The University of Portsmouth Present The Creating Balance Project

We are very proud to announce The Creating Balance Project, a new, collaborative project between Anglepoise, Strong Island & the University of Portsmouth to celebrate a design classic and local creativity in Portsmouth. The project aims to showcase the working studios and disciplines of artists and designers across the island and connect them to local photographers to capture, document and collaborate.

Anglepoise lamps have been given to each of the 10 participating artists/designers and the 10 photographers involved have used the lamps to light the photographs, give a sense of place and document the artist, where they work & how they create. During the collaboration sessions University of Portsmouth BSc TV and Broadcast students Massimo Marzullo and Jonas Jakunas have been documenting the project, producing short films for each collaboration.

Later this summer key images from each photographer will be printed and displayed with the films, lamps, photos and more in an exhibition in Portsmouth and one in London (TBA).

The collaborations are:

Andrew Whyte & Peter Clutterbuck
Matt Sills & Lorna Apps-Woodland
Paul Gonella & Tristan Savage
Russell Squires & Farkfk
Josh Knill & I Love Dust
Thor Haley & William Pounds
Rob Luckins & Roo + Barry Abrook
Cotton Candy & Neal Layton + Sadie Tierney
Matt Saxey & Deer Park Alpha
My Dog Sighs & Jack Daly

The project is progressing over the next couple of months and already two films are finished and many collaborations complete. Below are the completed collaboration films and we will be posting updates on The Creating Balance Project regularly here on Strong Island. To keep up to date with the project also please check the Creating Balance website where you can see loads of photos from behind the scenes of the collaborations.

creatingbalanceproject.tumblr.com

A huge thank you to Claire Sambrook, Simon at Anglepoise and everyone involved.

The Creating Balance Project

The Creating Balance Project (3)

The Creating Balance Project (4)

The Creating Balance Project (5)

The Creating Balance Project (1)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Spring 2013 Capsule Now Available

It’s been a while (apologies) but the Strong Island Clothing Co. spring 2013 capsule drop is now available and online in the Strong Island Shop Ahoy store! The drop includes some brand new Branded tee colourways, a new grey crew (highest quality, carefully selected and sourced) and a collection of accessories including new beanies, our seriously high quality Branded iPhone cases (4 & 5) from Etch and our hand crafted, leather coin pouch collaboration with Raw & Auburn.

To kick this capsule drop off right we visited the home of Portsmouth’s Eberhardt signwriters and neon sign specialists. Eberhardt are a true creative business gem of the city with a very long history and still produce hand crafted, carefully designed neon signs, a rare and special craft these days. Check the photos below and the behind the scenes edit too to see more. Photography principally by Jack Daly.

View the full lookbook HERE.

www.strongislandclothingco.com

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (1)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (1)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (2)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (3)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (4)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (5)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (6)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (7)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (8)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (9)

Opening Night of the My Dog Sighs Exhibition at The West Bank Gallery in London

Southsea and Portsmouth street artist (and Strong Island contributor) My Dog Sighs had the opening to his solo show in London last night and as expected, he killed it. ‘Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me’ opened at The West Bank Gallery and is home to not only the largest collection of My Dog Sighs’ work to date but also shows his work sparking off in to some new directions of creativity including the apples, collaborations with other artists and a room covered with paintings that can be cut out to reveal a painting underneath.

Word was that pre-opening sales had gone really, really well and there were people outside the gallery at 8am, ready and willing to wait the ten hours on the pavement to get their chance to have a look and buy some of My Dog’s work. Don’t take our word for it, below are the thoughts and opinions of the show by the people who experienced it and I think say all you might need to know…:

“I’ve been to several exhibition openings but none as been as warm as the one of MyDog. He was there happy to meet his fans and the staff was friendly, helpful and more than happy to introduce you to him. And about the art, what can I say; it’s truly sweet and inspiring. You have either the eyes that give an entire story in their gaze to the delightful stick men, all accompanied by simple but touching phrases”. – Dette Marhez

“I queued from 8 in the morning and throughout the day MDS popped out offering coffee and to talk to the brave hardy souls braving the temperatures. His whole manner on the run up and throughout the day and night is an example to any up and coming artist and artists in general. The gallery is a cracking space to show in and the work on show was of the highest order. MDS and the collabs were exhibited so well it was pleasure to wander around and warm up!” – Rob Pike

“The show promised big things and I was not disappointed. After an impressive 12 months from his first solo show at Pure Evil, I was looking forward to seeing how Can Man had progressed. There was not a bare wall in the gallery and the whole show felt like an art hunt with pieces hiding in every nook and cranny. With so many pieces to choose from MDS had taken his work to the next level and even managed to capture the innocent of a lost can on the street that you can take home and put on your wall. The hype is well deserved and things can only get better!” – Ryk Turner

“I loved it. It’s kind of like he’s brought life and beauty back to the discarded and neglected. Whilst other pieces capture solitude, loneliness and searching, leaving you topped up with that warm-glow of finally finding The One!” – Les Black

“Had a fantastic time. Just unbelievable what he’s managed to produce. Incredibly varied work. Totally stunning”. – Rick Christie.

The show is open to public until Sunday 31st March and there is also a bit of a special event tomorrow (Saturday) too. Gallery open daily 11am-7pm. Below are photos of last night’s opening by Strong Island homie Jack Daly.

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (2)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (4)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (5)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (6)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (9)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (10)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (11)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (12)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (3)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (16)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (17)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (18)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (20)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (22)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (23)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (24)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs