A few friends of Strong Island this afternoon pointed us in the direction of this incredible archive film of Southsea in 1983. Shot as a test of an early video camera by Vivian Gregson, the film is an uninterrupted shot of a leisurely drive around Southsea at the time. The film shows how significantly Southsea has changed in the intervening years with road layouts changed, buildings replaced by flats and most noticeably of all how the roads these days are so much busier. Nice to see lots of people out on their bikes on a sunny day in Southsea, in that regard, not everything is different.

On the drive you get to see an Albert Road with the Police Station still in place and many of the shops open and with vibrant colours. It’s addictive viewing, get settled in an get a snapshot of a normal Southsea day almost 30 years ago.