Warm Childhood And Teenage Years

A Memory of Southend-on-Sea.

My mum visited Southend-on-Sea during her childhood years.  She was born in 1917.  Her family made a day trip there once per year, on public transport.  They could only afford one visit per year because they were poor.  I was more fortunate and visited there regularly with my parents throughout my childhood, sometimes with other relatives in tow, my aunts and uncles and young cousins.  I was born in 1948.  My parents were fortunate enough to own their own motor vehicle, a black Ford Prefect, so they would motor there every Sunday.  We would eat a plate of cockles, a huge chunk of white bread and drink tea from mugs before returning home to East Ham.  The tide was always out, the sand like squishy mud between my toes and crabs were plentiful.  Always we walked the length of the pier, it was one of my favourite things to do.  Later on, as a teenager, I motored there with friends to take part in ten pin bowling on the pier, until I left England in 1969.  During one of my husband's visits to England from Canada, approximately 30 years ago, and during a day trip to Southend-on-Sea, my father-in-law purchased some 'olden day' pier prints for my husband.  Upon his return to Canada we had those prints framed.  The prints were on show in the framing store until we collected them and many people asked if they could purchase them.  Never would we sell them because they bring back fond memories of our childhood and teenage years.  Next year I hope to travel with my granddaughter to England and yes, Southend-on-Sea will definitely be on our itinerary.  I'll introduce her to cockles, sprinkled with vinegar and pepper, and we'll walk forever on the sand trying to reach the ocean, watching the tide in the process.  I live nowhere near the ocean in Canada, so I cannot wait to experience the smell of Southend-on-Sea.  I don't think I'll ever forget that salt breeze smell.  Even now my mouth waters at the thought of cockles, drenched in vinegar, with a slight sprinkling of pepper.