Some more old pictures that I hope may offer a little cheer in these rather depressing times click here to look at themI worked for Dreamland in the 70s as an engineer, in those days it was owned by Associated Leisure, they also owned the Lido and most of the amusement arcades in the town.
At that time everyone was aware of a steady decline both in Margate and in Ramsgate, mostly caused by cheap foreign holidays. The Lido and Cliftonville were already in a state of considerable decline, frankly I don’t think at the time anyone ever really thought that the decline could be prevented, so no one ever got as far as looking for realistic solutions, frankly now it’s all but too late and some realistic solutions must be found.
Now it would seem that the cheap foreign holiday might soon become a thing of the past and air travel an environmentally expensive luxury, so the tourists may return again if there is anything for them to return to.
What amazing pictures. My grandma took me to Cliftonville every year without fail from the age of four and I continued to go there after she died till the age of sixteen (I am now 42!) I have such happy memories of my holidays there - especially the Lido with Tony Savage the seaside organist,beauty contests,the old amusement arcades with space invaders machines and bar billiards, the theatre (seasonal performances by Charlie Drake, Norman Wisdom etc), Old Time Music Hall, Hades Disco,
ReplyDeletethe Jamaica Inn, gift shops, hot dog and candy floss stands, the cliff lift down to the beach, deckchair attendants with the old ticket machines around their necks,trampolines, crazy golf, the dolphinarium.I could go on and on and on! (In fact I am). Cliftonville had it all. What a wonderful place. So sad that its now in decline.
I remember Cliftonville and Margate as I went on holiday there for 5 consecutive years 1975-1979. In 1987 I went back for a day and was shocked to see how run down it was. I am going again next year for a weekend. We saw so many wonderful shows at The Lido and Winter Gardens. Norman Wisdom, Jim Davidson, Mike and Bernie Winters, Roger De Courcey, Tommy Trinder, Jimmy Tarbuck, Charlie Drake and Dick Emery. Priceless memories.
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