Then and Now #2

Again, many thanks to Gaston from France, who sent some of his pictures, taken when he lived here in the late 50s early 60s, and enabled us to do this comparative series.

This is St Augustine's Cathedral, taken in 1960.

And here it is this week.

As with the Campanile view, I really question whether "progress" has brought around any improvement. The lovely gardens and fountain in front of City Hall, with natural stone paving, has been replaced by a large area of bland brick paving, on which all the city counsellors park, so that the whole thing in an uninviting maze you have to navigate through. The Church has changed little, but the lovely building on the right has been pulled down, to allow for White's Road to be widened, and the rest of the plot is now an open space next to the main library, with underground public toilets and a sidewalk leading up the hill. The ugly oxo cube building behind it is the offices of the Receiver of Revenue, where one goes to file tax forms and part with one's hard earned money in order to pay for all this "progress"..... in fact that reminds me, rats, I need to go there and do a provisional tax return today!