PORT ALFRED (was Re: PORT AUCKLAND)

[northeast]

And best wishes to you and Mrs. M. for 2025, Ron.
Oddly enough just this morning I was thinking back to my time with stevedores at Hull (1970-1976) and hard to think that it was half a century ago.
Not an entirely happy thought, but age has its advantages .... now what were they? ... oh yes, free bus rides and prescriptions, but now we have to pay for all our gas.

[Hornbeam]

Some of my photos above of the PORT ALFRED were taken 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

She was my first ship sighting of 1975 and this turned out to be a year of firsts for me.

Locally, I paid my first ever visit to the South Gare and also discovered the riverside road through then British Steel land passing Eston Jetty and Tarmac Jetty and affording closer views of tankers at the North Tees Oil Jetties.
I made my first visit to Seaham and also to Goole.
During the year I made the decision to record as sightings only ships which I actually photographed - previously lany ship seen had been jotted down
I think it would be during this year that I started to load and develop my own black and white films as a consequence of expanding my range of worldwide contacts involved in negative exchange.

I am busy downloading all my negatives for the year to continue my 50 YEARS AGO series and it looks as though there will be a total of around 600 of them to bring to you, with quite a few others distributed elsewhere in my archives over the half century since. There is a thrill for me in all this as nearly all my negatives from this year onwards have never been printed nor scanned previously.

Happy new year to one and all.

Ron M

No doubt closely observed by the ever vigilant River Police (Blue Flashing Light on Helmet and wearing Wellies) just in case you reappeared to have a Sleeve of those horrible French Ciggies tucked into your Fishtail already to impress the Talent for dancing with in the Assembly Rooms.
Best Wishes to All for 2025.

Ron@3 or is it 4?