An old photo...

Recently I was tagged on Facebook to join in with posting a black and white photo each day for a week. But you were not supposed to add any text to the post...so no mention of what, who, where or when? I didn't really like that condition but decided to play along. 
One day I posted a photo of me taken in 1953-4 most probably. My mother owned an old box brownie camera and she quite often took photos.

Luckily in the comments, a friend asked about the photo, otherwise no one would have had a clue about it. This is what I can remember my mum telling me. The scene is Sandgate, a beach suburb of Brisbane. ( it's in the north east part of the city) My dad worked weekends so his day off was Wednesday. On many of his days off, the three of us would travel by train to Sandgate and spend the day there. In recent years I've wondered what part of Sandgate this photo was taken in. I thought it might be Flinders Parade which runs parallel to the beach.
After I posted the photo for that B&W photo challenge, I thought that I would post it on a Facebook page called Old Brisbane Album. I wondered if other people could tell me where the old photo was taken.
Well my goodness...what a lot of excitement it promoted! Some people enthused about the advertisements on the shop; some people enthused about the 'cat hat' that my mother had knitted for me. People argued whether the shop was one between Third and Fourth Ave, which is now called 'Doug's Seafood'. Others seemed to hotly disagree, saying it was farther down Flinders Pde and was now a popular cafe, Fish on Flinders'. So it was inconclusive...about where it actually was but all agreed it was Flinders Pde.
Last Saturday, DH and I made a detour on the way home from the Sunshine Coast, to check out Flinders Pde, Sandgate.
It was a busy place last Saturday and rather difficult to get a parking space so I could wander down the street to take some photos.
So here's Doug's Seafood...

And here's Fish on Flinders...


It's probably one of these shops...but I honestly don't know which. 😕
And here's the lunch that DH and I had at Fish on Flinders...mine was the prawn and avocado sandwich...it was yummy!

Now way back when that black and white photo was taken, mum obviously took more photos...like this one with my dad...the beach is behind us and the tide is out. I wonder if he and I were checking out a shell...or maybe a little crab?

And mum and dad took other photos that day but they were not printed. It was only when I took a bundle of old negatives from the box brownie to a Kodak shop to have them scanned and put on a CD, that I discovered 2 other photos. They are very blurry...and not terribly flattering...but they are such fun!

Possibly  the house you can see in the next photo is still there on Flinders Pde. But what an exhibitionist I was! Lol

Sandgate on a Saturday...

Last Saturday, DH and I took a drive to Sandgate, a beach suburb of Brisbane.
In the distance to the south, you can see the gantry cranes of the Port of Brisbane...

The sky was somewhat overcast but we still set off on our walk along the path beside the beach...

I love the way how, in recent years, the lovely old homes near the beach have been lovingly restored...

 The next house is called 'Cremorne' and is a real hotchpotch of styles and eras of architecture...

 Maybe one day it will be restored fully?

DH and I had coffee at a cafe called 'Fish on Flinders' on this street...just across the road from the BCC Swimming pool complex. (And how I did not take a photo, is quite out of character! lol)
As we wandered back to our car, it started to rain...

 Always the gentleman, DH left me to shelter under a very large tree where I stayed dry, while he went on alone to fetch the car...getting quite wet in the process.
I had noticed in the distance, looking south, that there seemed to be some work being done on the old Shorncliffe Jetty, which had been closed for ages. It had been found to be unsafe and locals rallied to get it replaced after its certain demolition. Eventually the Council agreed that a jetty was an asset to the community and that it would be replaced...eventually. So DH and I headed south to Shorncliffe...another lovely Brisbane beach suburb. Well there's not much left of the old jetty...

But we know there will be a new one!

Now while I had been waiting for DH to come back with the car at Sandgate, I was sure I heard a steam train whistle. And sure enough, as we drove past the Shorncliffe station, we saw a steam engine on an excursion...Shorncliffe is a terminus for this line.

The old train was 'parked' and obviously waiting for when the line was clear of suburban trains to continue the excursion.
It had been a lovely Saturday excursion for DH and I too, albeit in Mitzi Micra!  

Many, many years ago on my dad's day off, (Wednesday), my parents would take me on the train ( and suburban trains were steam...it was a long time ago, remember?) to Sandgate. My mother had a box brownie camera and was renowned for taking the occasional blurry photos. Here are some old photos of my family on a day trip to Sandgate...

One day I must try to work out what part of Flinders Pde this is...if the shop is still standing it's probably one of the many cafés. 

My dad obviously took blurry photos too! Lol

My dad loved this area and had the dream of retiring here...sadly he died in his 50s so never achieved the dream. It's a favourite place of mine to visit.