I couldn’t resist this sign as it brought back memories. The words themselves sound improbable and make me smile, though it seems wrong somehow that it’s such a shiny new sign on such a neat brick wall. I loved going on the creaky old floating bridge when I was a child. It meant treats in Woolston, the flea pit cinema and fish and chips. The floating bridge crossed the River Itchen from Southampton to Woolston from 1836-1977. It was replaced by an impressive high, curving toll bridge – more efficient, but not as much fun. A painting of the floating bridge by LS Lowry is in the excellent Southampton City Art Gallery – a fantastic small collection with imaginative displays, always worth a visit. Not far from Floating Bridge Road is Canute Road, where (probably) King Canute tried to turn back the tide to teach his yes men a lesson.
