Hey, I'd love to share more from my impossibly glamorous life but most of it is spent at my desk or on the sofa. But I have been making plans to go to Frankfurt next weekend to meet some pensioners I met on holiday, so there's that. I might share a picture if you're all good.

On the subject of sport, I had a bike ride today but it wasn't the best of ideas - it's been foggy and misty all day and I ended up with cold ears. I try to ride my bike to work on office days, it's a 20 km round trip so a pretty decent workout. But I don't do it that often as I'm a right old wimp - a hint of rain or morning frost and I'm out.

Enjoy Skeg Vegas @Chris and family!

 

Almost the end of day 2, it's been a blast. We haven't yet managed to get to the sea front, today it's been raining on and off, sometimes very heavily. We went for a meal in a arcade/pub called "Empire". They do really nice meals, and I had a pizza. I forget what Super had, but it kept him quiet. He hasn't had a kip today, so it must have been the early start! After walking around, and popping in a few arcades - one if which @super_ram came 1st out of 4 in a Super Mario Kart, against Jake, Ellie and Ava. We strolled back along Roman Bank, and stop for a final drink before calling it a night. It's very windy tonight, but honestly, I do mean Super! ????

Memory unlocked. I'm walking away from the arcade at Skegness or possibly Winthorpe with my parents and my sister. My sister had been given a big bag of 2p coins, which she had blown on the machines (I may have "helped" her). She won nothing.

So the money has gone and we're empty-handed. My dad asks her, "So what's the moral of the story?" Her response? "Need more tuppences!"

Are speaking Winthorpe Avenue area, where there used to be a pub called "The Dunes" with an attached arcade called 'The Smiths Amusements', or are we talking the old Robin Hood arcade, which "The Lookout" purchased and turned into their family entertainment area, building a new arcade to the side of the pub as you walk up, @DangerousSausage?

All this happened long before I was allowed to drink @Chris, which might indicate how long ago it was! I've had a virtual walk around on Google Maps and I'm fairly certain it was Smith's. The picture on Google is exactly how I remember it and it's down the road from the caravan park. Is it still there?

On 22/10/2024 at 19:34, DangerousSausage said:

All this happened long before I was allowed to drink @Chris, which might indicate how long ago it was! I've had a virtual walk around on Google Maps and I'm fairly certain it was Smith's. The picture on Google is exactly how I remember it and it's down the road from the caravan park. Is it still there?

Yes, it’s still there.

It remains exactly the same as it was when I was younger, except the pub attached to it burned down a few years ago. You might remember a small gift shop that stood opposite. It always had knick-knacks, but the elderly lady who owned it sold up and retired. The Smiths purchased it, along with the Derbyshire Miners' Welfare building and the lifeguard watchtower that the shop was part of. It’s now a fancy pub, with fancy prices, fancy chairs, and even fancier clientele. The café that used to be behind the shop is now the outdoor seating area for that posh pub, complete with glass windbreaks for an even more upscale effect. There’s even a stylish outdoor bar, which they’re too pretentious to use, but it looks good nonetheless.

Unfortunately, with the Dunes pub having burned down, one of the owners has been forced back into working in the arcade. She sits at the change booth, looking quite miserable and rather stuck-up. If you politely ask her for change, and manage to avoid any fuss, she tells you to use one of the many change machines, which rarely work. She even once frog-marched Jake to one, only to eat humble pie when it wouldn’t function, despite her trying twenty times.

I used to love the arcade; I hold it dear to my heart and have so many childhood memories associated with it. The old attendants were like friends, and one still remains. He used to look a lot like the actor who voiced the character in "Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men." I think he was also in "Cold Feet," though I can’t recall the actor's name, but he still resembles him. Working with the owner, he’s bound to see some changes over the years.

@DangerousSausage: I took some pictures this past Saturday, as we went to Winthorpe to escape a busy Skegness. Yet we planned to visit some of GP's favourite locations, which my eldest daughter finally managed to walk under one of the underpasses in the area.

One of the last times she did, she was sat on my mum's knee - whilst Super pushed her into a deep pool of water.

We had a storm, where the drains filled, and it left one end with a large body of water. For some reason, Super thought it would be a great idea to push her electric wheelchair through it. Obviously, the electric side had been disengaged but remarkably silly considering it could have caused issues for the battery. I can still hear my mum shouting "Barry" and "stop". ????

Poor Ellie lost one of her trainers as Kate focused on walking through it - so Jake and Ellie didn't get wet.

Whilst I just pushed my mum completely through the water, without giving much thought to me getting soaked. I remember it reaching just above my socks, and thankfully mum's battery wasn't damaged. This gave us all a good laugh over the years, despite Super sometimes not showing much of a funny bone. Since GP's passing, we have tried to walk through it, but it's always been flooded. The last time we tried, it was more flooded than the time I have just shared. I could imagine, @Fan of Big Tone laughing his head off at this story. He might even find himself wet from all the laughter. ????????????