Busy Holidays at The Coast

On the lead up to the Edinburgh & Glasgow holidays, my friends and I used to prepare by building our own 'bogeys' out of some pram wheels, then on the Saturday`we would arrive at the train station and wait for the train to come from Newcastle with the Scots, we would ask the passengers as they came out of the station where they were going to stay and offer to take them and their luggage 'on the bogey' to the bed & breakfast address for a fee, sometimes we were paid half a crown (2/6d), this went on all of the holidays and we did make some money. Another money making idea was, at the end of each nice day that people spent on the beach and on the links, we would go around and collect all the empty pop bottles that were left and take them back to the shop for the deposit. Another way to amuse ourselves was to take newspapers to the Fish & Chips shop and we would get free chips. That was showing enterprise. I was driving through Whitley Bay last week and it looks so shabby now. Gone are the days I remember when on a Sunday evening I remember the crowds that used to promenade along the seafront from the links to where the paddling pool is, also the Panama Gardens in the 'Scotch fortnight', the marching pipebands and acts that used to perform on the stage there, also the Punch & Judy stall that used to be opposite the amusments (not PC these days).