Wednesday 5 December 2012

A Golden Temple

Southampton has been a major port since Roman times.  It's where Henry V embarked for France, where the Titanic and all the big ocean liners sailed from, and where the troops gathered for D-Day.  You'd never guess, however, just by wandering the streets; the place was bombed to pieces in the Blitz, so the planners took the opportunity to make as much of the city as possible just like everywhere else, with identikit 1950s and 60s houses, and above all to expand and modernize the docks whilst sealing them off from everyday life.

Occasionally, however, you get forcibly reminded of quite where you are.  I was coming out of Tesco this afternoon around 4:00 pm and, as I crossed the carpark, caught sight of what appeared to be the construction of a vast golden temple, glinting beyond the rooftops.


It was, of course, just the huge container derricks and cranes, gleaming in the setting sun.  I had completely the wrong lens with me, so this was the best I could do.  But there's a project there, which I probably owe to the city that has been my home since 1984.

Like most such projects, it's mainly a question of finding suitable places to stand.

5 comments:

Martin said...

You can get some interesting perspectives, travelling down Regents Park Road towards the container port.

Mike C. said...

Martin,

Yes, my daughter went to Regents Park school, and I think it's the subliminal awareness of those views down the hill from Millbrook and Freemantle into the docks that is surfacing.

Mike

Kent Wiley said...

Cool pic, Mike. Hope this is a project you work on and show us.

Mike C. said...

Kent,

Yes, I've a feeling this one may the start of something bigger.

I've always intended to do our local oil refinery at Fawley, but the "place to stand" thing is an issue, unless you're moored in the middle of Southampton Water at night, never a wise move.

Mike

eeyorn said...

Sounds like a fun project and I look forward to seeing the results. I spent an idiotically happy 2 months recently within dog-walking distance of Hastings castle. There's something magical about port towns, of course I may be slightly biased as my father's family came from Dover and I can recall playing on Shakespeare Beach and waiting to see 'The Golden Arrow' on its way through from Folkestone into Dover Central.