Nostalgic memories of Cliftonville's local history
Share your own memories of Cliftonville and read what others have said
For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.
Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.
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Displaying Memories 1 - 10 of 13 in total
Does anyone remember my mother who was born in 1932 so I expect went to this college 1943 on? She used to relate stories of great hardship (!) And being made to swim in the sea in winter!
I made a very nostalgic visit to Cliftonville yesterday to see my old school Godwin Girls College, 1951 I was seven years old when I first started with my sister eighteen months older, some time ago !!!! it brought back happy memories and realisation of how small I must have been as the building was much smaller than in my memory.
There were pupils from many different countries who were unable to go home in the holidays ...see more
Spent a lot of my teen age life in the parakeet when Doug and Pam barker owned it. I have very fond memories of my time there. There are so many. I am Dave Kaye known as Danny then. The loss of Doug at the age of about 42 I believe, was very sad. All night bowling on Saturday nights over at Whitstable, after they closed the Parakeet, was a particular highlight.
I remember those names only too well Robin. On Saturday nights we used to wait till Pam and Doug closed. We would help them clear up then go to Whitstable bowling alley all night and get a free breakfast in the morning. Also remember your antic Robin making calls to anyone and saying you were a telephone engineer and getting the person to stand on a chair and hold the phone at arms length and sing Bye by blackbird and even more antics. Those were the days.
My Mum and Dad bought a guest house in Dalby Square at the end of the war. It had 10 bedrooms and he built a chalet in the back garden for me and my brother & sister to sleep in to free up extra rooms for guests. I was 3 years at the time. We only lived there for about 5 years but it was great as the guests would take us down to the beach to play with their own kids. My brother was born in January 1947 during that ...see more
I can see the school I went to in 1951 in the far distance: Godwin Girls College, now Godwin Court appartments, which was very isolated in those days. There were none of the buildings around it that now exist. The land was open up to Kingsgate Castle, with no trees or bushes along the coast. There was no footpath, as far as I remember, along the coast towards Kingsgate Castle. During the summer, we went swimming every day in the cold sea at high tide.
We always enjoyed holidays in the 70s in Cliftonville we went down a gap in the cliffs to the beach every afternoon then on the way back to our guest house in Gordon road we would go to the cafe for a drink and there was a shop that sold toys and gifts in the cafe there was a jukebox that showed the groups playing the song that was playing I have great memories ...see more
Hello everyone, I've read memories about Cliftonville and the Parrakeet and suddenly my heart start jumping, going back of about 50 years, and still remembering - that's not bad! My name is Giovanni but everybody used to call me John and I spent three of the summers of my life in Cliftonville. I was an Italian student so I was there to learn english, doing some practice and in the meantime doing some work to keep my ...see more
We all remember those days Robin, I still am in contact with Dave G and Terry G, mainly through Facebook as I am in Oz now. You would also remember the Orchid Rooms and the Quality Inn. I don't know if you have been back to Cliftonville lately but it hasn't fared well over time. Those were the days.
My mother was born in Margate and we spent our holidays there from early 1950s-1970s staying with grandparents. Does anyone remember the puppet theatre in The Lido? I remember my parents taking me there when we were on holiday. I think there was an aquarium next door. I remember deckchairs in the middle with the man playing the organ, and then the painted golden horseshoes on the ground which led down the steps to the ...see more