Between the 1970s and 1990s, street photographer Chris Porsz spent hours walking around the city of Peterborough, in the United Kingdom capturing hundreds of amazing characters. Now, almost 40 years later, Porsz has tracked down those same people to recreate their photos, resulting in 135 beautiful reunions.
Most of these pictures were recreated in the same locations; Porsz gathered all the photos together and put them in a book titled ‘Reunions’, with texts by writer Jo Riley telling the stories of the people in the pictures.
Dog And Tina (1985 And 2015)
Source: Chris Porsz
Punks Tina Tarr and her partner Dog were pictured near the Cathedral in Peterborough when Tina was 18. The couple left the city in the 1990s and went traveling. They had twins, but are no longer together. "I remember the photo being taken, it was a brilliant time. I had various styles of punk hair for quite a few years," said Tina. Dog added: "They were good times, I still had hair then".
Railway Kiss (1980 And 2009)
Source: Chris Porsz
Tony Wilmot was snapped saying goodbye to his girlfriend Sally at Peterborough Railway Station in 1980 and a year later they got married. Tony was 22 and working in Essex as a teacher and Sally was 21 and based in Stafford as a local government officer. On this occasion, they had met up in Peterborough and had no idea the photo had been taken. It appeared over 30 years later in a local paper the Peterborough Evening Telegraph and was seen by Tony's father. The pair, who are now both headteachers and live in Lichfield, Staffordshire, have two children Tom and Jenny.
Five Boys Running (1987 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
Andy, who has been married for 21 years and has a daughter, said: 'I remember playing the arcade game Phoenix, which involved birds hatching out of eggs.' Andy went into the Army after leaving school and drove trucks in the Transport Corps. He left in 1987 and has been working for the Royal Mail in Werrington, near Peterborough, ever since. Richard is now an electrician in Peterborough and is married with two boys. He said: 'There were only about 70 of us in our school year and we were all really close. They were happy times.' Tony James works as a stone cutter and has two children; Aaron works at Ikea and is married with three boys. Devinder moved to Yorkshire in 1986 and is married with two boys and works for the Housing Association. They've organized a school reunion and plan to keep in touch.
Pink Mohican (1985 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
Punk Badger Farcue can still remember winning the Pizza Eating Competition in Cathedral Square. The contest was organized by Stefan Malajny, who ran the Papa Luigi pizza restaurant. Stefan said: 'I remember Badger managed to eat his pizza in about two minutes, which was very fast.' Badger was 20 at the time of the contest and worked as a laborer, building dry stone walls. He said: 'My friends encouraged me to enter and we had to try and eat a 12-inch cheese and tomato pizza as quickly as possible. I won and got a round of applause and front page of the local paper.' Badger, who has five children, moved to Somerset in 1991 and now tarmacs roads.
Sisters (1980 And 2013)
Source: Chris Porsz
Left to right, Shehnaz Begum, her twin sister Rukhsana and their older sister Itrat were spotted sitting in the window of their house on Cromwell Road. 'We often used to perch in the window and watch what was going on in the road,' said Shehnaz. 'My twin sister and I were about seven and Itrat was nine. We loved riding our bikes with the other children in the street and were good friends with another set of twins. Mum said we were quite a handful'. The three sisters still live in Peterborough and see each other regularly. Shehnaz, who is divorced, has a daughter and looks after elderly and disabled people, together with her twin, who is re-married and has five children. Itrat works for the post office and is married with six children.
Good Friends (1980 And 2015)
Source: Chris Porsz
The four men are still good friends and were delighted to pose for the reunion picture while the pair’s receding locks made it impossible to recreate the sculpted hairstyles they had sported in 1980, the friends were happy to recreate their photo. ‘I dressed like that for about four years and my family always grumbled that I was taking too long in the bathroom,’ says Mr. Medler, 47, who is married with three children. ‘It was surreal retracing our steps.’
Metal Mickey (1980 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
Steve Osborn was known as Metal Mickey in the 1980s as he broke both his legs several times in a series of motorbiking accidents and had plates and bolts put in them. He said: 'I even carried on riding my bike with my leg in a cast!'. Steve, who now uses walking sticks to get around, lives in Spalding, Lincolnshire and is married. He had four children, but his son died in 2012. Steve plays the guitar with different bands and has raised more than £20,000 for the National Association of Bikers with a Disability.
Jewelry Assistant (1990 And 2015)
Source: Chris Porsz
Vicki Gracey (nee Frost) worked as a sales assistant at a jewelry store in Queensgate Shopping Centre for two years. Vicki has since had jobs behind bars, in retail, hairdressing, and restaurants and currently deals with tenancy sustainability. She still lives in the city and is married with two children. 'I'm a people person and I've always had jobs which involve working with the public,' she said.
Friends (1982 And 2011)
Source: Chris Porsz
In the first picture, Penny, and three sisters: Sarah, Louise, Carole, and Juliette are sitting under the Guildhall, Cathedral Square. In the reunion photo, Alison (last on the right) took the place of her sister Juliette who sadly died.
David Harvey And Tim Goodman (1980 And 2010)
Source: Chris Porsz
This picture was taken on Bridge Street. David Harvey became Chief Superintendent now retired. His son is a policeman in London. Tim Goodman has six children and is a successful businessman.
County School Girls (1979 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
Sandra Williams, Carmen Chin and Maureen Mayers were friends from County Grammar School but lost touch over the years and the school was converted into sheltered housing in 1985. 'Carmen was my best friend and lived in my road, so we were always together,' said Sandra, who is now married with four children and a step-daughter and works as a passenger assistant for disabled children and in a coffee shop. Carmen, who is married with four children and now lives in Lincolnshire, where she has a small holding said: 'I think we were the first year to go to the grammar school after it changed from being a comprehensive.' Maureen, who still lives in Peterborough and has four children, had broken her right arm when the photo was taken and hid it behind her back. She said: 'We'd had freezing cold weather and we were playing tag and I slipped over on the ice'.
Pin Badges (1970 And 2013)
Source: Chris Porsz
Punks John Church, Gary Beckett, Ade Lawrence and Pippa Hodgson were pictured in Cathedral Square, wearing pin badges. John, who is now a painter and decorator in the city, said: 'The other lads were school friends and Pippa was a mutual friend. We used to hang out together and listen to punk music. I think I was about 15 and on the verge of becoming a punk.' John is still friends with Ade and they play in a band together. Gary moved to Australia, where he works as a project manager and Pippa now lives in Spain.
Ice Creams (1981 And 2015)
Source: Chris Porsz
Donna Yarnell was five years old when she was photographed with her three-year-old brother Steven licking ice creams in their front garden. Her family moved out of the house two years later so it brought back lots of memories when the pair returned to the street in February 2015. 'I was really surprised because the front gate was exactly the same,' said Donna, who works in a pub, still lives in Peterborough and has four daughters. Brother Steven also lives in the city and has a son.
Tasbir's First Job (1982 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
Tasbir Singh worked on a stall at the market for 4 years after leaving school. He then worked for BT and Royal Mail, where he is today. He still lives in the city and is married with three children and four grandchildren. He said: 'I worked on the stall from the age of 18 until I was 22. It was hard working in all weather'.
Before And After 40 Years
Source: Chris Porsz
The photographer captured this mother and her 3 children 40 years ago; it’s amazing how time goes by so fast!
lan Medler And Peter Yates (1980 And 2010)
Source: Chris Porsz
This isn't only a suit they're wearing; it's an attitude of life. These two guys are (or better were) real "Teddy Boys", Rebels!
Eating Chips (1983 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
School friends Martin Coulson (left) and Andy Randall were eating chips bought from the arcade which has now been replaced with Wilkinsons. 'I think it must have been a Saturday and we'd been to the chip shop. The chips were a bit like McDonald's fries and were always good,' said Martin, who was a warehouse manager and is currently re-training. He is married with two children. Andy is a telematics engineer and is married with three children. He added: 'We were probably going around the toy shops together as we had a Scalextric track'.
Flute Player (1986 And 2015)
Source: Chris Porsz
For many years, Neil wandered around Peterborough town center and played the flute outside the Co-op bank in Westgate. Flute Player - Reunion, 2015. When the book went to print, Neil had not been seen for several months.
Hairdressers Shop (1980 And 2016)
Source: Chris Porsz
Dressed in a fur jacket and gloves, Sandra Burford was pictured going into a Hairdressers Shop - Reunion, June 2016. Sandra said: 'I used to go there occasionally to have my hair cut by the apprentice because it worked out a bit cheaper.' She used to work at the Hotpoint factory but is now retired. Sandra is widowed and has a daughter and three grandsons.
Double Bubble (1980 And 2012)
Source: Chris Porsz
Sisters Anna (left) and Emma Hankins posed for a picture blowing bubbles with Hubba Bubba bubblegum in Bridge Street. Anna was 11 and Emma was 13 and the girls were waiting for their mom while she was shopping. The siblings, who went on to have careers in hairdressing, are now married and have families. They still live in Peterborough and see each other regularly. Anna now works in a pharmacy and Emma works for the Ideal World shopping channel. 'It was hard trying to blow bubbles again after such a long time and took quite a few tries,' said Anna.