I have two entries concerning wasted public money for the weekly WordPress challenge: Chaos
Southampton City Centre’s uneven pavements cause chaos.
Southampton City Council spent £4.6million revamping the civic centre’s main square and pavements which was completed in 2010. But just 18 months after a private contractor completed it (with no expert investigation) large parts of the road began to sink, leaving its surface uneven and cracked.
I don’t know how many times I have fallen over in the City myself – it’s no good just looking where I am going as the shadows create optical illusions, it would be easier to walk on gravel or loose earth. So many have been hospitalised and had their lives ruined. It is cheaper for the Council if pedestrians, cyclists and drivers to claim compensation for their injuries from the contractor than have the street repaired. I think coloured Tarmac would have been a better option for the street and was even better left as it was. Cutting corners always works out more expensive and money always seems to come before people.
The back of Old Northam Road, Southampton
The street where the Developer has run off with the cash
Resotoration of Old Northam Road
Southampton City Council granted £1.4 million of public money to Grays Developmentsin the early 2000s to refurbish Victorian properties in Old Northam Road. This was to regenerate what was once the antiques quarter of Southampton, England.
The man who owns Grays, bought up 30 commercial properties and 68 homes within Old Northam Road had promised to invest millions restoring them within 13 years.
So far there has only been ripping down and dilapidation. No work has actually started, leaving residents and businesses in chaos. Some who lived above shops have had walls to their property removed and just left.
The traders insist that he has spent the money on a house for his mother and ran off with the rest of the cash. Here is a YouTube video of promises from the project manager: Restoration of Old Northam Road
When I saw that the weekly WordPress Photo Challenge this week was Frame(click to take part or see others), I realised that framing a photo was a natural past-time for me taking my routine snaps. So here are 15 from my media library (click on to enlarge or see captions) …
From outside looking inside a tentFrom inside looking outside a tent
From outside to inside a red telephone box
From inside to outside a red telephone box
Looking out from a window
Looking on to a window
Reality reflected in a frameA reflection framed with realityFrom outside looking inside a vehicle windowFrom inside looking outside a vehicle windowA frame of natureA frame of concreteA frame of a house tunnelFramed constructionFramed by a stairwell
The second in my series of the many different cultures that go to make up my city.
As a significant part of our Southampton population, I would need to write a book to explain all the different groups plus a history of India, which I don’t feel qualified to do.
Definition of Indian
There are many living in Southampton who define themselves as Indian. Indians immigrated here way before the Partition of 1947 that divided their land into India and Pakistan. Many Indians living here have never even lived in India nor been on holiday there. Indians might have settled here from Australia, Fiji or Africa. Many Ugandan Asians, that came as refugees in the 1970s, might define themselves as African Indian. Many Indians have been here for generations and although they might be British-born and fully integrated, define themselves as Indian by their strong culture and historic roots. They might call themselves British Asian, English Indian, British-born Indian, or define themselves by their language Hindu,Gujarati, their region – Punjabi or Keralan for instance or their religion Sikh, Indian Muslim, Jain, Brahman, Indian Buddhist etc. All foreigners who have come to settle in Southampton more recently are referred to as Freshies by the people who have lived here a long time. One usually tries to guess by the clothes worn, from the way trousers are pressed to sweater-styles as to what group they belong to – but this isn’t always a correct assumption. Many who have just arrived from India, are often more western in their dress than people who settled here in the sixties. More often than not it is by their accent.
I shall mention the Pakistani and other communities at a later time but the predominant group in Southampton are Sikhs which make up about 1.3% of our city’s population.
Sikhs
Maharaja Duleep Singh 1845
In the 2012 census 2799 Sikhs were listed as living in Southampton.
We have to go back to the time when the British colonised India and Prime Minister Disraeli bestowed on Queen Victoria the grandiose title:Empress of India.
The first Sikh to arrive in Southampton was the Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1854. He visited Queen Victoria frequently at her Osborne House residence on the Isle of Wight and she became Godmother to his children. Queen Victoria later commissioned talented Indian architects, particularly Ram Singh, to transform parts of her residence and gardens into a ‘flavour of India’. Today much of Britain has a flavour of India, from our seaside piers to rose gardens – not to mention adopted words in our language and our cuisine, which British call ‘curry’. Southampton is a prime example of this flavour with a beautiful Royal Pier which has been leased to Indian restaurateur Kuti, and spacious parks with tropical plants.
People raised herealso greet each other with the phrase ‘Acha Mush’ – Acha a slang word from hindi for ‘I’m good’ and Mush (of Romany origin, meaning mate) which is now an affectionate slang term for a fellow Sotonian.
Sikh troops recuperating at Netley from injuries sustained in the first world war. Photo thanks: Marion Ivey/The Guardian
Queen Victoria had a large military hospital built in Southampton in response to the Crimean War. This she visited frequently by sailing boat from her Isle of Wight palace. The hospital was later known as Spike Island (the remains of which can still be visited in the Queen Victoria Country Park). In 1894 one entire floor of the main building was given over to Indian troops, one million of whom served in the British Military.
In the hospital grounds, a concrete platform, or ghat, was built at the side of a stream for cremations, after which the ashes would be tipped into the stream and borne back, spiritually, to join the waters of the Ganges.
Gradually Sikhs settled in Southampton from this time in dribs and drabs. Their caste system fit in well with the Victorian class system. It was mainly middle class Indians that arrived in great numbers in the 1950s and sixties to take up work in Southampton law firms or as doctors in the National Health Service. The photos immediately above are of Sikh festivals and two temples (Gurdwaras) in the Bevois Town area of Southampton.
I have happy childhood memories growing up in a predominantly Indian community. My best friend’s brother married an Indian film star and our street threw out the red carpet, celebrating the wedding for three days and nights. This beautiful celebrity taught me and other children how to dance, Bollywood-style. It is my Indian neighbours I have to thank for opening my eyes to libraries, teaching me to swim, yoga, how to make a perfectly round chapati and the perfect cup of tea.
Spike Island – Memory of a Military Hospital by Southampton writer Philip Hoare (Harper Collins paperback)
Corrections: I do not profess to be an expert on the cultures that make up my City. I am happy to take any corrections or additions to my posts.
If you read General G Tony’s comment, you will realise that I have had to adjust my post. I assumed that British piers were influenced by Indian architecture. I have been informed now that they were more influenced by Versailles in a Rococo fashion. However the Prince Regent was a great fan in of Indian architecture and he himself influenced our seaside culture.
Miniature of Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton
I love Shakespeare. Throughout the year Britain is celebrating Shakespeare 400.
Shakespeare died on his birthday, 23rd April 400 years ago. This is also St George’s Day (patron Saint of England). So this weekend there are special celebrations throughout the regions. I am going to many and thought I would highlight Shakespeare and his Southampton connections:
The Earl of Southampton
Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton was Shakespeare’s patron, especially during the era of The Globe theatre. Shakespeare made such a devoted dedication in his sonnet The Rape of Lucrece to Wriothesley, that many thought that there may have been a sexual relationship between the two, though I like others feel that is was just the language of the day.
Tudor Merchants Hall, which was once The Bull’s Head. Although Shakespeare’s patron The Earl of Southampton, had his seat outside the town, in Titchfield, he attended state functions in the town and is said to have frequented this lodging house with touring actors.
The Earl’s country seat was outside of the town of Southampton, but still in Hampshire, in Titchfield. Although his wife lived there, Henry Wriothesley spent much of his time in London, as did Shakespeare.
The Earl is also believed to have frequented or owned a pub in Southampton’s City Centre where travelling actors lodged. Some say this was The Bull’s Head(now referred to as The Tudor Merchant’s House); others say it was The Red Lion Inn. It was a council chamber where the trial of traitors from The Southampton Plot took place before it became an inn. In Henry V Act II, scene II, Shakespeare has the king sentence the plotters in the Southampton council chamber, then immediately set sail from the port of Southampton for Agincourt. Shakespeare must have listened to the Earl mention the Red Lion or some believe that Shakespeare may have had a drink there himself.
Southampton’s Bargate
Southampton BargateBargate touring strollers area
Shakespearean actors have performed at the Bargate and in theatres around the town since Elizabethan times, including Shakespeare’s own touring actors. Every British monarch has passed through this Bargate on their way to Southampton’s Port. Hangings once took place at the Bargate and according to legend The Southampton Plot traitors, that were written about in Henry V Act II, scene II,were hanged here.
Westgate, where Henry V troops left for Southampton’s Port to the Battle of Agincourt
Southampton’s West Gate and Port
The soldiers who boarded ships at Southampton for the D-Day invasion, took inspiration from Shakespeare’s Henry V. Some of Henry V troops passed through Southampton’s West Gate to set sail from Southampton to the Battle of Agincourt.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
Daring Theatre in Southampton
Ira Aldridge, the first black world famous Shakespearean actor performed in Southampton
Southampton has a long reputation for modern or innovative theatre, Ira Aldridge is recorded as the first black Shakespearean actor. He had a limited experience of acting when he arrived from New York by ship, on which he worked as crew, in 1824. But following drama lessons and a stint at a University in Scotland, he became one of the highest paid stage actors in the world.
Sarah Siddons as Lady Macbeth
Ira was especially loved here in the South. He performed on stage in Southampton in the title role of Shakespeare’s Othello in 1828.
Many actresses, such as Sarah Siddons(she frequently visited Southampton and there is a theatre group named after her here: http://www.sarahsiddonsfanclub.org ) and sisters Charlotte and Susan Cushman have said to have performed Shakespearean roles in Southampton in the late 1800s. Women were considered too titillating to be allowed to perform Shakespeare at London theatres at that time and certainly would not have been allowed male roles.
The Cushman sisters, Charlotte and Susan, as Romeo and Juliet in 1846
Quotes used are from Henry V Act III Scene 1 (Before Harfleur)
I imagined that I was a person from the future, taking photos in a museum about the history of this decade (2010-2020 The Shrinking Age). Here are 12 photos I might have taken of relics in cabinets.
2010-2020 The Shrinking Age. Attempts to leave earth to live on other planets.Vacuum-packed travel food known as ‘Space Food’ with ‘bar codes’Glass bottles of wine with corks and labels from countries around EarthA chef’s utensils circa 2015This decade saw the dawning of 3D printingBritish police uniform – ‘rapid response’Homeless deterrent spikes as the numbers living on streets in cities increasedRobotic arm for warehouse workers employed by ‘online shopping’ sites on Earth. Companies later set up off-world finance accounts to avoid paying taxes and minimum wages.ATMs for collecting bank notes that were exchanged for goods. These were used from the 1980s until near the end of this decadeSame sex marriages – bridal fashion mixed traditional with newHandbags were only carried by women, as a fashion statement. It was their most expensive status symbol.Garden sheds/pods originally offered a private place to “potter about in the garden”, but became living spaces when homes were in short supply. The ‘Green-space Uprising” brought about vast changes in architecture following this.
This project is in response the WordPress Photo Challenge: Future
The Grande Old Post Office, 58-9 High Street, Southampton. Grade 2 listed building that has laid empty for some time. Now up for let.
Colour photos by Southampton Old Lady
The town’s former Hight Street post office was opened on 5th November 1892.
Built in the Flemish style of terracotta brick with dressings. It is three storeys high surmounted by three elaborate pediments. Below the pediments is a modillion cornice with a frieze. The building has five mullioned and transomed casement windows on the second and first floors. On the ground floor, there are four round-headed windows with a projecting pedimented porch supported on console brackets to the left. In the pediment, there is a moulded crown. Beneath the building is a 14th-century vault, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The upper floors have been converted into apartments.
Planning permission has been granted to convert the ground floor into a restaurant or possible retail enterprise.
The Post Office miraculously survived WWII bombing, including the 1940 Blitz.
In response to WordPress challenge: Color Your World. Where a calendar has a different Crayola Crayon colour as a photo promt.
There is a plaque on a large anchor outside a derelict church in Southampton’s High Street (QE2 Mile) which reads: The Church of Holyrood erected on this site in 1320 was damaged by enemy action on 30 Nov 1940. Known for centuries as the church of the sailors, the ruins have been preserved by the people of Southampton as a memorial and garden of rest, dedicated to those who served in the Merchant Navy and lost their lives at sea.
There are many memorials in this peaceful place to those lost at sea. From mediaeval captains that went down with their ship to those bombed while bringing supplies during WWII.
There is a special corner dedicated to the crew who drowned when the Titanic sank. Of her 1,517 victims, Southampton was home to 538 of the 685 crew members who died on this White Star liner’s fateful crossing to New York on the 15th of April 1912. It was like our 9/11 – our city lost a generation.
I have been meaning to write about the Holyrood neighbourhood of Southampton for some time. In the 1960s a new area of council flats were developed on that which was raized to the ground by the Blitz. In the last decade Southampton council has employed mural artists and sculptors to reveal the history of the area. However, Marie Keats, another Southampton blogger I follow, has been able to do this so much better than I on her ‘I Walk Alone” wordpress site – so if you are interested in her lovely mural walk around the area please do visit her blog: http://www.iwalkalone.co.uk/?p=22590
The Earl’s country seat was outside of the town of Southampton, but still in Hampshire, in Titchfield. Although his wife lived there, Henry Wriothesley spent much of his time in London, as did Shakespeare.
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