You're more than welcome, Iain. It's good to see the house is greatly unchanged, unlike the flats my parents lived in where I was born. I found myself there a few years back and the place had changed almost beyond recognition. I couldn't help but feel disappointed that there was so little to remember. Your neck of the woods, however, remains pretty much as it has since I have been here, at least.

Hi Robert.I still walk along the beach whenever I get the chance. The Bear and Key however, is still looking very sorry for itself, although there are a number of shields on the boarded-up windows, placed there by the local papers, who are still campaigning for it's reinstatement to a hotel.
The bike? It's a Yamaha TDM 900.

Hello, Ginny. Although Herne Bay is not (yet) as expensive as Whitstable, being that much further away from London, it's catching up. At the time of writing, a one bed flat in Herne Bay will cost you about £100-120,000. Whilst not wanting to put any one estate agent above another, David Clarke, in the High Street (01227 362248), is a Herne Bay-only agent, who's staff have a good knowledge of the town. The library (01227 374896) will be able to help with the cultural aspect of the area. Herne Bay, Whitstable and Canterbury all have a number of thriving societies, covering a wide variety of activities.

Welcome to the virtual view of what you see each year, Lee. I think you may be in the minority, mind; I shouldn't think the Bay is likely to be on many people's 'must visit every year' list. It's good to hear from someone with such a positive view towards the place, though. Besides, I like it, too.

Hi, Michelle. I'll take issue with you there. I think you'll find that Graveney includes the marshes that go right up to the shoreline. However, I'll look at getting a picture of the church soon.
I don't know; this started off as a Herne Bay site with a bit of Whitstable thrown in. Now I'm based in Tankerton, the Whitstable content is growing almost at the expense of the Herne Bay side. Oh well.

Ah; so at least now I have a family name to connect to the house. Thanks, Wendy. At present, I don't have any information. As you may have read, other people were asking the same and also for photos. As Underdown House is not only a private house but only accessible by going onto the grounds, I was not going to take any pictures. I'll see if your request generates any information, though.

Hi, Ron. Thanks for sharing all those memories. I'm glad the site has helped revive so many.

Hey there, June. Thanks for the note and the memories. Coming back can be a blessing or a curse really, as there will be a lot that may have changed since you were last here. However, I hope there was still enough of the old place to satisfy memories, however rose-tinted they may have been. By the way; the home was in Beltinge Road.
As you can see, Geoff (and anyone else, for that matter) can now email you directly, via that envelope under your name. So Mr Holden; if you do want to get in touch, feel free.
PS I like the bike, too......

I have to say that I admire your sense of humour, Christine. I was asked about these houses recently and took some photos. For those of you not in the know, behind the Ship Centurion and Griffey's decorating supplies shop is sited one of Whitstable's public toilets. Behind that was some waste ground between the loos and King Edward Street. But not now. The former waste ground now has nine mews properties, quaintly labelled "Oyster Mews". They back right against the toilets and a gate has been put up, presumably to protect the front doors from drunks who are caught short or who feel a little mischevious. I kid you not..

Hi, Ron. Thanks. I found the house and have sent the pic now..

Hey there, Geoff. Good to hear from you again. The mystery man remains just that, it seems. I had earlier thought he looked just like my old schoolfriend's dad but Terry later told me that in 1953, he was not yet in Herne Bay. The trail seems to have gone cold.
As for a Herne Bayites gig; fantastic idea. You may be surprised as to how many others are there, in addition to the sixteen you have already come across......

Thanks, June; I'll take a look this week. I'm due to visit the Bay in the next couple of days, so I'll make sure I have my camera with me..

Hi, Marlene. I'm afraid I could find no reference to Pearson's here, other than the pub near the harbour and an estate agent, neither of which is much help. Anybody know anything about Pearson's, which I presume was a pottery in the area?.

Well; you're here now, David. Thanks for the commendation. Generally, I think that Herne Bay and Whitstable (and other little towns like them) have an advantage over the great metropolises of London, Manchester et al, in that you are more likely to come across the same faces. Accordingly, you are less of a little cog in a big machine. There are occasional disadvantages in knowing that everyone knows everyone but it has a certain degree of charm, doesn't it?.

Thanks for the correction, Malcom. I could double check with Ness about the steps but that can wait for now. Your description of the "Whitstable Bends" betrays your origins, too. For my crowd and me, they were (and still are the "Herne Bay Bends". It all depended on which side of them you lived..

Hello, Sandra. Blimey; you were quick off the mark. I took Ami to work on Sunday morning and couldn't go under the bridge, as the pedestrian crossing was still being completed. When I passed later, it was finished and the route open again. Later still, on my way back from Herne Bay, it was closed while they extracted the bus......
Turns out it was a Kings Ferry bus, transferring passengers from the railway station. I presume there had been engineering works on the line. The TV news reported no casualties but I think the driver is in for some bother, to say the least. The reason it happened is that the bridge is too low for a double decker. Single deck busses are used for the Chestfield-bound bus routes. The driver presumably didn't read the "Maximum height 4m (13' 3")" sign. One of Ami's friends took a photograph of the incident and I asked if I can have a copy. You'll see it here as soon as I get it.
I guess the incident will make an appearance in the local rags on Thursday. I'll let you know if I see anything..

Hello, Peter, Shelagh. You've turfed up another name (Gundolf House) that I'd not come across before. As to the Cumberland; I don't have a picture but that can be addressed easily enough. Give me a few days and I'll sort something out for you. Finally; a street map. Unfortunately, I have gone over my 50MB website space allocation and there would be no room for another detailed map of the town just yet. I may have to revert to a simpler menu system, as the present one eats up a lot of space..

You are more than welcome, Graham..

Hi June. Thanks.
Ness and I were living in Herne when the Storm hit. The Sunday before, I had been watching a neighbour erecting a 6' fence across the road to me. Come the Friday, Not only his fence but what appeared to be the entire neighbourhood's, ended up in my front and rear gardens. Our bungalow looked over the Cherry Orchards and the gap between the bungalows in front of me created a useful wind tunnel to guide all the villages debris onto our property.
We were unable to get out of the road because we had trees down to our left and a Transit Luton van on it's side to our right, effectively blocking in about 12 households. The one advantage we had was that we had a gas cooker, which meant we became the water heating source for a number of neighbours who only had electricity.
Ami was only six months old and slept through the whole affair. Ness and I spent the entire night listening to the roof tiles creating a constant round of applause as they did a Mexican wave. As it was, we only had a ridge tile and two hip tiles dislodged but no other structural damage, so we got off very lightly. Getting to work was never an option.
The enduring comment about the Storm was how thankful we were that it hit at night. By about 8:00 it was all but over and the wind was in the North Sea. Had it come much later, the death toll would have been considerably higher. As it was the Storm killed 16 people, mostly through being struck by debris.
Dad was a fireman at the time and it was the one time that mum didn't expect to see him again. All very emotional stuff. He spent most of the night on the roof of Windsor House (the block of flats in Belmont Road, Whitstable), tied to the building with a cable, as he and colleagues tried to keep everything on the roof.
The only water that was affected was the Channel, which spat out a Sealink ferry and deposited it onto Folkestone beach. It was actually safer for the ships to stay in the Channel, rather than try to get into Folkestone or Dover harbours. Now that would have been a real bum deal, both for crew and passengers. .

Hello, Richard. I hope that the site has provided a little more insight into the town for you.
The New Dolphin is still there but it's no longer a pub. The Royal doesn't exist now either. As far as the name "White" is concerned; well there are loads still in the Bay. As to whether any of them are related to you is another matter entirely, of course. Bear in mind too, that Herne Bay did not exist before 1830..

Hi, David. Not a problem. I'm sure the nice people at the sailing club will forgive. Let me know how you get on..

Hi, Keith. I presume you are referring to the One Hundred Steps. That is a brave move by the council. I wonder how long they'll stay there, this time?
Thanks for that; I'll take a wander over to Bishopstone Glen (once the weather clears up a bit) and update that photo page..

I so like getting this sort of letter. It makes it all worthwhile. Thanks, Janita. As far as living all over the place, I have lived on the Sherwood estate at the top of Borstal Hill, Albert Street (by the harbour), Herne, Cobblers Bridge Road, Herne Bay, in Greenhill and finally in Grand Drive. I am now happily residing in Tankerton and any move would be made most reluctantly.
My sister went to the Endowed and my two girls are now at QEGS in Faversham, too. No Carnival Queens in the family, although Ivy did enter the 1978 competition. Ah; memories. Memories, indeed..

Hi, Lesley. Welcome. I was advised of the location of Underdown House recently after trying to find it in Underdwon Road (D'oh!) a while back. Once I saw where it was, I became reluctant to photograph the house as it is private property and I would have to stand in the grounds to get the picture. However, if the owners of Underdown House actually get to see this site, perhaps......

Hello, June. Welcome and thank you, both for the comments and for the photo. OK then; if Geoff Holden, or any other of the lads are looking in, this is June's photo. Click on it to see the full size picture:

(L-R: Johnny, Phyllis, June.)

Anyone recognize our Johnny? Get in touch if you do and I will pass on the information.

Welcome back, David. Like you, I recall enjoying going into Greensteads and listening to the staff hollering at each other. It was the only place I recall that had both a meat counter and a fish counter in the same establishment. As to where the family is now; perhaps there's someone who can shed light on that?.

Hello, Heidy. Thanks for the comments. Feel free to nick whatever you like from the site;after all, that's how I got a lot of the information......

OK; so another (adopted) Herne Bay son returns, albeit briefly. Let's hope you catch us in the good weather, David. You should be all right, that time of year, plus of course Agust is when the Herne Bay Festival is on, so depending on what date you get here, there may well be plenty to see and do..