NOSTALGIA: Frying tonight! And guess what, the fish and chips will be hot...

All these street scenes come from the Robert James Collection.

I have searched through Kelly’s directories for the years of 1880 to 1925 and had no joy in finding two of them. So if you recognise them please let me know.

Unfortunately I am at a loss about where this street is in the city.

placeholder image — Unfortunately I am at a loss about where this street is in the city.

On the corner of one of the streets in the first picture is a company named Martin & Lockhart so someone might remember the company or even the church on the right.

In the second picture perhaps you might remember Mr T Smith who owned a corn store or even the hot fried fish and chip shop (did we ever have cold fish and chips?).

Children play on a traffic-free street junction somewhere in Portsmouth. But where is it?

It is a street junction somewhere in Portsmouth without any cars to annoy the children in those long-gone traffic-free days.

Most views of Castle Road, Southsea, are seen from the Southsea Common end so in the third picture is a view from the Kings Road end.

On the left are two who are in the Boys Brigade. It must be a warm sunny day as the woman on the right is protecting her skin from the sun with a parasol.

Notice how white the brickwork is on the gateposts. Brickwork in those pre-traffic pollution days.

The final picture is of St Edward’s Road, Southsea, which is in a still-salubrious part of Southsea, off Castle Road. Many were mews houses and if you could walk around the back, many of them that once held carriages like the one shown, are still there.

Here we see a carriage with two well-to-do women being hauled by two splendid horses. I wonder if the drivers were called chauffeurs in those far off Edwardian days?