Page 2 of 2

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 22 Sep 2017, 21:19
by number 6
Eddie Muir wrote:Chick is my wife, Maria Elena. We are both familiar with Southampton. :wink:
And what a great couple your are! :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 23 Sep 2017, 06:04
by sixret
A good news, Maria Elena! Good luck with your life in university. :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 23 Sep 2017, 06:51
by Eddie Muir
Thank you for your very kind words, Number 6. :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 23 Sep 2017, 08:33
by timv
Good luck at Southampton University, Maria Elena. My father used to teach there, and I was brought up in the New Forest so I used to go down to the docks with my parents to see the great liners in the mid-1960s when cruise liners like Enid's 'Viking Star' regularly used the Western Docks (along the River Test seafront) as well as the docks down at the junction of the Test and Itchen rivers.

In the 1950s-60s 'boat-trains' could follow a side-branch of the main London-Bournemouth railway line right down to the docks and people would disembark at the quayside, as Enid has the Mannerings and Trents do in Ship of Adventure (and as she presumably did herself). This was stopped for safety reasons in the 1970s, as it was judged too dangerous for the passenger railway to cross busy roads without adequate safety gates; the same happened at Weymouth. The physical appearance of the lower end of the city by the seafront at the Royal Pier has not changed much since Enid's time except that it is more run-down, but the marina, apartments etc to the East are modern developments on what used to be commercial docks for industrial import/export use. But the city shopping centre around the Bargate is almost entirely redeveloped.

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 13:34
by Maria Elena
Eddie Muir wrote:Chick is my wife, Maria Elena. We are both familiar with Southampton. :wink:
I know! Maria Esther told me you celebrated your wedding anniversary last year. Well, as you both know this area, I would love recommendations of Blytonesque places to visit. :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 13:34
by Maria Elena
sixret wrote:A good news, Maria Elena! Good luck with your life in university. :D
Thank you! :)

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 13:48
by Maria Elena
timv wrote:Good luck at Southampton University, Maria Elena. My father used to teach there, and I was brought up in the New Forest so I used to go down to the docks with my parents to see the great liners in the mid-1960s when cruise liners like Enid's 'Viking Star' regularly used the Western Docks (along the River Test seafront) as well as the docks down at the junction of the Test and Itchen rivers.

In the 1950s-60s 'boat-trains' could follow a side-branch of the main London-Bournemouth railway line right down to the docks and people would disembark at the quayside, as Enid has the Mannerings and Trents do in Ship of Adventure (and as she presumably did herself). This was stopped for safety reasons in the 1970s, as it was judged too dangerous for the passenger railway to cross busy roads without adequate safety gates; the same happened at Weymouth. The physical appearance of the lower end of the city by the seafront at the Royal Pier has not changed much since Enid's time except that it is more run-down, but the marina, apartments etc to the East are modern developments on what used to be commercial docks for industrial import/export use. But the city shopping centre around the Bargate is almost entirely redeveloped.
If your father taught in this university, you know the surroundings well! Although I suppose the university has changed a lot in the last years, with new buildings added. But what I love above all is the architecture of the oldest ones. The city common is right next to the University and seems like a lovely spot for walking and spending a quiet morning. I'll probably go there during the weekend. I imagined the port had suffered changes since Enid Blyton's time. However a visit would be interesting, I would love to be in a place which Enid Blyton visited, and which appears as well in her books! Thank you for all the information. :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 13:51
by Maria Elena
(Update)
I'm loving Southampton! This is my fifth day here :)
I have already been to a bookshop, it's one of the first things I went to with my mother and my sister. :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 15:08
by Courtenay
Great to hear from you again, Maria Elena! :D So glad you're enjoying Southampton.

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 17:03
by Anita Bensoussane
It's good to hear you're enjoying Southampton, Maria Elena. All the best with your studies!

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 29 Sep 2017, 17:11
by Eddie Muir
It’s great to hear that you are enjoying Southampton, Maria Elena. :D

Re: Southampton :) :) :)

Posted: 08 Oct 2017, 16:25
by Darrell71
I loved all the pics that I got from Maria Esther, and I'm so glad you're having a lovely time! :D