Memory Lane Southend Town Centre

[Cricko]

There was only one thing as little boys we hung around in The Kursaal, well not me if course. The Tip em out of bed, which saw you throw balls at a target to tip some bikini clad girls on the floor.

See how innocent we were back then.

 

[Tinks]

A few things I recall after watching that. At the end of the pier of course in those days were many attractions, but as a kid I would spend as much time as possible on the two Red speed boats they had there I think they were called the Jet and the Swift. Great fun on he sea in those days.

Peter Pans playground had a Zoo and I spent many hours in there.

There was an indoor Dodgem cars in the huge Olympia amusement arcade on the ground floor and upstairs were some of those old what the butler saw flicker machines. It was opposite the old boating lake.

The Kursaal was closest to where we lived at the time which was above 2 cafes called the Beehive and Sunflower restaurants, next door to Terry Flynns Wonderland amusements. The cafes were shut down but my mum and her partner had a drinking club above them called The Little Ships club and we lived in the flat next door.

Ok back to The Kursaal, I have so many memories of that place Yvonne Stag was riding the Wall of death then and I will do a separate post later all about that place.

The seafront was my manor haha in those days so any questions on from when that film was released fire away guys.

Remember many things especially the Kursal (around 1963 onwards)
My dear mum used to work in the kiosk on the Caterpillar and used to take me to work with her where I would sit on the floor in the booth colouring. I got to know most of the staff at the Kursal at that time and have very happy memories.
A lot of my family also used to work at the Palace Bingo and I recall how busy it used to be and also full of people smoking.

 

[Cricko]

I had forgotten about the Caterpillar @Tinks . That horrible dusty dirty roof contraception that came over the top and shut you in whilst you went up and down on some track..it was disgusting. You needed a lung transplant after getting off that.

Similar to this.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

I didn't mind Terry Flynn as a kid, it was great when he did the big scalextrix track upstairs and in Hamlet Court Road. I got on more with Pam his well girlfriend but not. He didn't treat her very well and was an arse to me later on in life when I was looking for a motherboard for a tabletop Missile Command game. Said he wanted £300 for it,. Jesus we were like his kids when we were younger, my 3 sisters and I were in there every day.... in the end I went to his old workshop up by Tots and one of the old guys gave me 2 for nothing.

Banging the machines haha @THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK , we were rich until they started putting alarms on them grrrrrrr.

I think you mean Pam. She was nice. She's still about apparently, just. He was fine, as long as you didn't try to do business with him, as he was ruthless. I didn't mind the alarms on the pushers, as the day trippers would leave the edge ready for a cert profit. There were other machines that you spun the coin to get wins. I could spin the coin into the 10/1 hole about every second go. Day trippers would drop the coin no spin and just miss. One was in Sun Spot, and I emptied it so much, Stewart barred me from that machine. I had quite a few coups down the seafront, and would start at Rainbow Corner the top of Pier Hill, and go in each arcade until Wonderland, and then back again, spending about 10 hours down there.

 

[Cricko]

I think Peter Noble knows how ruthless TF was

I liked the other end more, Peter Ketley. Old man Manzi, the Doubledays were all ok. As were the Burgess family at Grosvenor rock/hats and many more of the old faces of course.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Remember many things especially the Kursal (around 1963 onwards)
My dear mum used to work in the kiosk on the Caterpillar and used to take me to work with her where I would sit on the floor in the booth colouring. I got to know most of the staff at the Kursal at that time and have very happy memories.
A lot of my family also used to work at the Palace Bingo and I recall how busy it used to be and also full of people smoking.

My sisters became friends with the lady in the candy floss stall in front of the Kelly's Cottage ride in the Kursaal, I'm trying to think of her name. She was quite striking with a beehive hair style.
The Palace Bingo. Yes, my mum would take me there when I was young, and I would go to the amusements on the front whilst she played bingo. It had the biggest cash prizes because it had the biggest attendance out of all the Southend bingo halls. But my mum said this meant it was harder to win. You're right about the smoke. Everyone seemed to be puffing away as they marked off the numbers. It made me cough just walking through the place.

 

[Ex-Member1]

Blimey, so many memories triggered for me tonight. Wall of Death, lovely Yvonne Stagg, the 'Tip 'em out of Bed' show, Peter Pan's Playground, Maxwell's boating lake etc. Great and happy times. Thanks folks.

 

[Benfleet A1]

I think Peter Noble knows how ruthless TF was

I liked the other end more, Peter Ketley. Old man Manzi, the Doubledays were all ok. As were the Burgess family at Grosvenor rock/hats and many more of the old faces of course.

I used to work with Alfie Doubleday. His family owned the big arcade next to The Ship didn't they? Yellow frontage, can't remember the name.

 

[Cricko]

I used to work with Alfie Doubleday. His family owned the big arcade next to The Ship didn't they? Yellow frontage, can't remember the name.

Happidrome, they sold it a few years back, but his son still runs lots of machines around the town.

 

[Benfleet A1]

Happidrome, they sold it a few years back, but his son still runs lots of machines around the town.

Happidrome, that's the place. Big on bingo as I remember.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

In case anyone younger never got the chance to use or see the Wonderland Raceway which was upstairs, here it is. It was massive, and very impressive. The cars still flew off if taking a corner too fast, but you soon learnt by your mistakes. Great fun.

 

[AndyT]

Remember it well. A fine place @THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK

 

[The Big Dady]

Used to love going to the slot raceways there and down the bottom of Hamlet Court Road and taking my home built cars to race all comers. Started off with the normal Scalextic Cars.

But after a short time you got the bug, and start building your own chassis out of soldered copper tubing, special suspension and Mura motors, light weight body, plus those sticky sticky sponge tyres which give phenomenal grip but you had to clean and soak them in wintergreen oil between races, and of couse your own special adapted hand controller..

The speed they used to achieve was unbelievable, and you never stood by a bend after a long straight for fear of getting hit hard.

Here are some photos of the Wonderland Raceway









And some ads

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

The two below of Wonderland are when a Chinese family took over it and changed the signage. They removed the popular food and drink bar to just sell ice cream. They altered the inside by having the amusement machines in a square on the outside walls, making it weird when you went in there. It worked as it was, after the alterations, it didn't work and people stopped going in there, and that was that.

 

[Mad Cyril]

I didn't mind Terry Flynn as a kid, it was great when he did the big scalextrix track upstairs and in Hamlet Court Road. I got on more with Pam his well girlfriend but not. He didn't treat her very well and was an arse to me later on in life when I was looking for a motherboard for a tabletop Missile Command game. Said he wanted £300 for it,. Jesus we were like his kids when we were younger, my 3 sisters and I were in there every day.... in the end I went to his old workshop up by Tots and one of the old guys gave me 2 for nothing.

Banging the machines haha @THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK , we were rich until they started putting alarms on them grrrrrrr.

Why were you looking for the motherboard for a Missile Command game?

 

[Cricko]

Why were you looking for the motherboard for a Missile Command game?

I had 2 Table top (cocktail) versions, I used to play it lot in the old days at Scruples/Toffs wine bar down Milton Road in Westcliff so wanted one for home long after they shut down.

I managed to find one from First Leisure (I think they were called) in London and another fairly localish I forget where. The local one was completely shot, but the one from FL was ok.. It had a scratched top but after contacting Atari in the USA and told the price from there and the delivery time, so I decided to contact Atari in Ireland, I had the brand new top in 7 days door to door.

Sometime after it started having a few issues on the graphics etc, so after talking to a few guys in the know they said it sounds like it's the motherboard, so my search started then for a new one. It was that and thereafter it was fine.

I am sure not looking back now what happened to it, I think I stored it in a friends garage for a time when I was between houses then kind of forgot about it and he moved, had his garage cleared out without telling me and that was that, I also lost about 1000 old albums in that escapade.

Here endeth the story.

Edit: I see the swear filter kicked in nicely up top but you know what I mean.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Went in the Railway Hotel last night and it was like a throwback to an old East End boozer.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Went in the Railway Hotel last night and it was like a throwback to an old East End boozer.View attachment 10328

Ricketts and random acts of violence?

 

[KevinJH]

Went in the Railway Hotel last night and it was like a throwback to an old East End boozer.View attachment 10328

Reckon that'd look good in black and white ??

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Ricketts and random acts of violence?

Haha not far off. What gives away the fact it's 2019 is the fella on his phone. And no clouds of cigarette smoke.