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Site Update...
As always... I start with an apology!
I am having trouble keeping up with both new
material and the transfer of articles from the old site. This Chat
Column contains some of the material but not everything that has
been received in the last few weeks. I am hoping that I can catch
up a bit more over the Christmas period.
Now let's move on to the content.....
Sunshine
Corner...
You'll love this photo kindly sent to Simply
Whitstable by John Wraight in Oz.....
It is, of course, Sunshine Corner
and the location is Reeves Beach.
Sunshine Corner was a popular summer entertainment
for youngsters - with a hint of religious content and a whole heap of
singing and games. The occasion probably took place at low tide
as the sea encroached very close to the sea defences in those
days. The lady's wide screen
laptop is a little heavier than those of today.
That "Tudor style"
building on the right was a cafe in the 1950s.... and it had been
an even
more elaborate feature in earlier decades. During the 1920s, it had a verandah
overlooking Whitstable's open air skating rink. Sadly the rink is
now just a forlorn boat park wedged between Sea Wall and Green's Tile Centre in
Sea Street.
The question is... when was John's photo taken?
Comments on Sunshine Corner
Article....
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Sunshine Corner Photo
The photo you have of Reeves Beach with Sunshine
Corner was taken between 1946 and 1948 I remember it well
and use to attend.
Patricia
Guest
Lake Echo
Nova Scotia
Canada
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| Our Reply: Many thanks, Patricia. As the
article was published some time ago, I have replicated
your message in the Visitors Book (entry date 19/5/09) to
ensure a wider audience. |
Tankerton Beach
of '57
Mike Bune has also supplied a beach scene from
the lazy, hazy days of summer in Whitstable of 1957. This time it is from a well populated Tankerton
Beach.
Back in the 1950s, this was the main strip of waterfront
for holidaymakers and daytrippers. Whitstable's
town centre beach was still very much a working area with
boatyards and other marine industries. Thus, visitors tended to
head eastward to the "foothills" of Tankerton Slopes.
Mike's photo also highlights some other
differences between "then" and "now". For
example, notice those deck chairs! They were all marked WUDC
(Whitstable Urban District Council) and piles of them were stored on the promenade. Nowadays, people tend to arrive with
their own foldaways and windbreaks! Deckchairs simply don't make
a profit anymore.
You will also notice that some of the adults
occupying the "chairs" are fully clothed. People
seemed to get old very quickly in those days! For many, the age
of 25 put a stop to bathing costumes and skimpy clothes. I
recall my old mum sitting on the beach with a coat and hat...
whilst temperatures soared into the 80s.
Additional Comment on the Beach Photo...
Phew! It is great to see the site busy again Dave! Well
done! I am sure that everyone really appreciates all the
hard work you put in and realise that you also have a life
to lead beyond SW. I hope you will be pleased, flattered
or whatever to know that you are missed when not on
parade!
Anyway, I just thought you should know that the Tankerton
beach shot featured some of my childhood buddies from St.
Swithins Road. Neil Maflin is on the left, then I think
Nigel Hunt - a summer visitor - then Howard Clarke. Happy,
carefree days - apart from the tar. When you were unlucky
enough to step in it, you had to hop rather than spread it
around. Not easy on the shingle were the problem was
different and you ended up with a conglomerate of stones
stuck to your feet. Butter would get it off and I remember
slinking off and wiping off the tar with one of mother's
buttered sandwiches. Mmmm Marmite.
Mike Bune
Corfe Castle
Dorset |
| Our
Response:
Thanks, Mike. I'd forgotten the tar. I suppose with
fewer ships and boatyards, we don't get so much nowadays. |
Castle Dances
Jan Smith (nee Hutton) wrote the other day and
included some lovely photos of dancing at The Castle during
the early 1950s....
| Dave,
I attach a couple of photos taken in
the early 1950 s of the dancing competitions at Whitstable
Castle. Mrs Humphries was the old
time dance teacher
There so many people in the group one below...
I am in the centre with a
short dress... at about 4 years old.
Perhaps some readers will remember the event.
Jan Smith (Hutton) |
I daresay a number of our younger readers will be
confused by the location. If it is the same place that I recall,
it was on the east side of the main Castle building - alongside
the access road leading to the car park . Nowadays, it is a fairly
open rose garden with pathways, lawn and a central fountain.
However, back in the 1950s, it was wholly laid out with paving
slabs and, for protection from the elements, it was surrounded by
a high trellis that supported climbing plants. Whilst it was
primarily an open air dance floor, it also served as a skating
rink.
This brings back yet more memories! In the 1920s
my old mum was a keen skater.... at the town's super rink at
Reeves Beach (mentioned in connection with John Wraight's Sunshine
Corner photo). She had a pair of skates with metal wheels and they
survived until the 1950s. By then, of course, the Reeves Beach
facility had disappeared and we used the Castle Grounds dance
floor.... when we weren't skating around the green at the corner
of Railway Avenue and Station Road.
Of course, open air facilities weren't much use in
bad weather. That's when we rolled up the mats in our scullery
(that's "kitchen" to you young whippersnappers) and skated around
that. Many houses had smooth concrete scullery floors in
"them days". In latter days, we all acquired those
rubber wheeled Jacko skatesand headed off to the Pier Pavilion at
Herne Bay.
It's funny how such early pleasures can lead to a
lifetime of sporting activity. My brother, Ian, became a roller
hockey player for Herne United and Herne Smugglers. He was still
involved in the sport (training youngsters) when he died just a
few weeks ago at the age of 63.
Reaction on Dance Photos...
We have received the following messages on the
Castle dance photos...
I remember the dance
class well. My sister Shirley and I attended for years.
Mum and Dad used to go the the Adult classes. Mrs
Humphries was a lovely lady.
Barbara Bruce
Sheppey |
| Our
Response:
Thanks, Barbara. I dearly wanted to go myself... but
you know how it is.... I never got round to it. ;-) |
Another interesting Chat
Column, Dave, and let me echo the thanks you have already
received for all your hard work.
Just wanted to say to Jan Hutton that I recognised her
immediately on the photo, although I'm pretty sure we
haven't met for half a century! Thanks, Janice, for
sending it in.
Diana Suard
Paris |
| Our
Response: Thanks,
Diana. |
Our Thanks
I would to thank John, Mike and Jan for bringing back a fair few
memories with these photos.
Comments...
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