The Floating Bridge by L.S Lowry. On loan by Carol Ann Lowry to Southampton Art GalleryThe Woolston Ferry is now a restaurant at Elephant Wharf, Burseldon, Southampton http://www.ferryrestaurant.co.uk
The main link is a reblog from The Reclining Gentleman – a fellow Sotonian that I follow. This song has filled me with so much melancholy. I just loved the Woolston Ferry (Southampton’s Floating Bridge) and it made a wonderful free day out for me as a child. The video (if you click on the original blog) show clips at Southampton Art Gallery with paintings of the ferry at by L.S Lowry, who was in love with a Southampton girl at the time. Sadly she married someone else, then so did he. But both couples remained good friends during their lifetimes though. The Woolston Ferry song is by Gutter Percha & The Balladeeros from Southampton.The Ferry itself has made a comeback since this song. It is now a summer restaurant further along the River Itchen at Elephant Wharf, Bursledon, for anyone interested.
This tune will mean nothing to 99.99% of readers, but i don’t care. I love it. The tune and the ferry are part of my heritage.
You can see my flat in the map near the beginning. In fact i have never lived outside the area of that map since i came home from Southampton General Hospital at age 2 days. You can also see St Mary’s Stadium where Southampton FC play. Every few years the fans try to get the chorus of this song to become our anthem and sing it at games, but sadly it has never properly caught on. I love singing it in away pubs though and seeing the confused looks of the home fans.
You can keep your Ferry Cross the Mersey, your Skye Boat Song, and anything Bryan Ferry has ever recorded. This song, its ferry, its heart and its history are about the…
I’ll have to wait until I get home from work to listen to the song, although I’ve just read the lyrics. We never used it much, not having any call to go to Woolston, but for reasons I no longer remember I connect it with hearing about the Aberfan disaster.
I remember collecting for the Aberfan disaster, also I come from a long line of Sotonians on my father’s side my mother was from South Wales. At the time that disaster shook the world.
Thanks for the reblog! And thanks for posting the Lowry pic too, it’s beautiful. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t realise the old ferry is now a restaurant (what sort of local am I if I didn’t know that!?) but I think I will be toddling along there once the weather warms up a bit 🙂
Yes I remember that too and loved watching the rusty chains move. I once held the floating bridge up when we were out in our school (The Deanery) dinghies.
I always loved the special treat of a trip on the floating bridge. For me it was a rare event but my husband, who lived in Itchen, would go back and forth all day if he felt like it. The bridge is an improvement in terms of getting to and from town but I miss the old floating bridge. I did t k ow there was one at Bursledon. I will an e to check it out.
SNIPS & SNAPS 
I’ll have to wait until I get home from work to listen to the song, although I’ve just read the lyrics. We never used it much, not having any call to go to Woolston, but for reasons I no longer remember I connect it with hearing about the Aberfan disaster.
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I remember collecting for the Aberfan disaster, also I come from a long line of Sotonians on my father’s side my mother was from South Wales. At the time that disaster shook the world.
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Thanks for the reblog! And thanks for posting the Lowry pic too, it’s beautiful. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t realise the old ferry is now a restaurant (what sort of local am I if I didn’t know that!?) but I think I will be toddling along there once the weather warms up a bit 🙂
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As little boy, I remember standing in the doorway to the engine room and watching the steam Pistons rising and falling. I was hypnotised by them.
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Yes I remember that too and loved watching the rusty chains move. I once held the floating bridge up when we were out in our school (The Deanery) dinghies.
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I always loved the special treat of a trip on the floating bridge. For me it was a rare event but my husband, who lived in Itchen, would go back and forth all day if he felt like it. The bridge is an improvement in terms of getting to and from town but I miss the old floating bridge. I did t k ow there was one at Bursledon. I will an e to check it out.
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As it wasn’t far away from our school, we would spend our lunch-break on it.
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