Date
| Visitor
| Location
| Comment
|
| 30 Sep | Elspeth | Leeds, W. Yorkshire | Hi Steve, I haven't been back to your site for a while, however have I lost the plot or has "Feedback" gone somewhere else? I do like to read everyones comments, and I just can't seem to find it please help!
Have been looking at all the pictures - need to come back for a visit.
Hi, Elspeth. Yes, the feedback page is still there, although I did temporarily lose bits of the site recently, for reasons as yet undiscovered. However, the lack of the Guestbook for a while hasn't helped.As I've (sort of) promised elsewhere, if I can find an alternative way to set up feedback (via a forum, perhaps), then I'll get to it. Maybe. |
| 29 September | David | Sydney, NSW, OZ | Hi Steve, Good to see the guest book back, I have been watching this space! My daughter,who was born in Canterbury and attended St Anne's Convent in Sturry before leaving for Oz as a seven year old in 87, made her first visit back to the Bay this month. We lived in Links View from 78-87. She has been touring Europe with her fianceé and stopped in on the Bay last week on the way through to London. Said in her opinion it hadn't really changed much, she thought it was quite nice. Her Australian fianceé was really taken with the Victorian properties on the sea front and the small bathing huts at the Hampton end of town! Nothing like that on Bondi Beach I can tell you.
Hi, David. I'll have to get round to sorting out the guestbook properly but it does at least work for now. |
| 11 September | Chris Rozee | Herne Bay | Hi Steve. Sorry I have been so long getting back to you with an update on how the 2nd Herne Bay Scout group is getting along after the arson attack in 2004. The news is good. We are back in our HQ and operating fully again. We re-started after the Easter holiday and never missed a camp at all this season due to the generous support of the local population of Herne Bay. We had various donations given to us, ranging from cash to camping equipment. So thanks to all and sundry in Herne Bay. The most surprising thing to come out of the whole experience is the fact that out of all the Scout Groups that make up the Canterbury Scout District, the 2nd Herne Bay Scout Group was the only Scout group to increase its numbers over the last year - we actually doubled our membership numbers compared to 2003/04. This could not have been achieved without the generous help of Briary School. As a "thank you" to Briary School and the help that they gave the scout group I, along with another Leader presented a Scout Association Baden-Powell Plate to the school during an assembly last term. All the best, Chris Rozee, Group Scout Leader 2nd Herne Bay Scout Group. Well, that is seriously good news, Chris. Along with that of St Philip Howard school remaining open. Let's hope that the future for both institutions remains bright. And I'd echo your thanks to Martin Saffrey and staff at Briary. Martin has done a great deal to increase the popularity of the school, in my humble opinion. |
| 29 August | Mike Gunnill | I am working on a story for the Sunday Express. Have you heard of problems receiving BBC2 TV along the seafront at Herne Bay since the wind farm started working? If possible grateful for assistance.
Hi Mike. I asked a couple of people I know in the Bay about this but neither of them have had any reception issues. However, if anyone else can shed light on this, perhaps you could | |
| 22 August | Glynn Sharkey
| Ashby, Lincs | Hi there. I found your website whilst browsing. I was in Herne Bay for a few months from Jan 80, when I was a 20 year old steelworker who went down to Kent to picket the Sheerness steelworks. We used to do 12 hour shifts outside the works and the locals were far from friendly. We were lodged at various places - Chatham, Gillingham, Canterbury and then they put us all together in hotels at Herne bay. I remember it as quite an exciting time and even though we were there for a serious duty, we had time for some fun. Im sure there was a place called the Tudor Tavern; quite a rough place I remember and the locals used to fight with the Whitstable and Faversham lads until we turned up, when they all ganged up on us! I also remember a place called the Divers Arms and another pub were you could go downstairs in the basement for a sort of disco after hours. I forgot the name of that one, though. We used to go roller skating on the pier. Or have I got mixed up with somewhere else? I know we got our pics and write ups in the local papers but over time I've lost all my cuttings. Herne Bay has good memories for me even though it was in the midst of winter when I was there and I can't believe I have never been back. I will though. Many Regards
Hi Glynn. The Tudor Tavern is now the Tudor Amusements. It had a dancefloor at the back, beyond the bar which you passed on your right as you came in. It did earn an unenviable reputation as a knocking shop for a while. As for the pub with a dance floor in the basement; you've got me there. |
| 30 July | Amy Adams | Steve, thank you for the pic of Greensteads. My guess is that my family must have lived upstairs. I have been working on this family history project for 5+ years now. And am currently making headway. I do however have a couple of questions that you may possibly answer:
Hi, Amy. Lots of questions, answered as best I can as follows:
| |
| 23 July | Paul Pole-Baker | Farnborough, Hants | Hi Steve, I used to live in Herne Bay and now live in Farnborough Hampshire. Since leaving, my daughter has been doing some research on family history. One family name is "Lake" and we would like Angela Lambert to get in touch with us. I hope your move to Hastings was successful and achieved your objective! It seems to be an interesting place with new opportunities for you. Good luck. Hi Paul. Thanks for that. Things are slowly getting sorted and I should be straight soon. I have forwarded your email to Angela so she can contact you directly. I also asked her to let me know if there is any connection. |
| 17 July | Brian MacKenzie | Schofields, NSW, OZ | Steve, Just to wish you the best of luck with your move. If memory serves me it was quicker to get to Hastings from Herne Bay and took longer to get through Hastings. Best wishes, Brian. Cheers, Brian. As it happens, the journey to HB takes about an hour and ten minutes in the car, considerably less (when pushed) on the R6. However, getting from Hastings seafront (my end of town) to the Winchelsea/Rye road can take ooh, about three years. The traffic management systems in Sussex are, frankly, a joke. Still; mustn't grumble..... |
| 13 July | Angela Lambert (neé Lake) | Maidstone, Kent | Hi. I am Angela Lambert (neé Lake). I Have two brothers and one sister; Michael, Graham and Sara. We lived in Beltinge until I had been at Reculver school one year. We then moved to Stanley Gardens, Herne Bay, in 1962-1963.I went to Kings Road junior school until I was 11. I had great times there, then went on to Greenhill Secondary school. I played truant more often than not, for which I now regret. When I left school, I worked in Herne Bay for about two years, before moving to Northampton. I really missed the seaside town. I lived in Northampton for ten years & had three children. I now live in Maidstone Kent but still miss Herne Bay. I still enjoy my trips down to visit my brothers. Good old Herne Bay never changes, but then I wouldn't change it anyway. Hi Angela. I think you're right about the Bay. Like Whitstable, I think opinion is divided between those who love it and those who think it's a dump. The former will know it not just as a town but the place where they grew up and spent their formative years (me included, albeit in Whitstable). OK, so neither town is particularly cosmopolitan but hey; they're home and that will always make them special. |
| 13 July | Phill Bunton | Hey Steve, just read all the comments from 2003 onwards. Phew! I think we have both done well; you for adding them and your own informative comments, and me for reading them all in one sitting! my reason for asking you to add this to the comments board (when you have time and are settled) is we (my parents and I) used to own a caravan at the Glen Court caravan site in Bishopstone Glen and I thought you may find it helpful if not interesting for me to fill a few gaps. Our caravan 'dawn choras' (that's how it was spelt!) was in the same 'field' as the shop which in its time used to sell just about everything from plasters to milk to bread and the usual beach stuff, good sellers being buckets and spades. How that worked with the tide in and all those stones I dont know. Reading some of the comments about the Glen I think you have missed a couple of things. The fairy glen was built by the owner of the van site, Mr Robinson, in the early 60's and DID have a fairy house and a few gnomes and disney characters dotted around. The little house itself started out thatched but was tiles after a couple of winters. It was always brightly painted and in the summer was lit up in the evenings. On the bridge (which is still there) there was a drainpipe where you could roll pennies down. The proceeds went to a children's charity, which was nice. All three roads leading up to the van site were still dirt in the early 60's and the road nearest the cliff edge (Reculver Drive) had bungalows on BOTH sides of the road and it seemed every year the end one would be at the bottom. We never used to use the 100 steps; that was for the oldies. We used to either run along the top to the cliffs end and then down a path we had made to the gully bottom (the record was two and a half minutes from the fairy glen to the beach!) There used to be a bridge spanning the gully about halfway down the path. In winter you can still see the concrete foundations on the houses side. In the mid 60's a father of one of the caravan site kids died climbing one of the very tall trees to rescue a kite, because he fell to the bottom of the gully. Unfortunately I cant find any pics of the site or the fairy glen. The caravan site started as Glen Court caravan site owned and run by Mr and Mrs Robinson who lived on site in a bungalow next to the shop. In the mid 60's it was taken over by Bert Westwood, who previously ran the burger/sweets bar on the other side of the site. It changed to Cliff Pavilion and expanded fast. Bert put in mains electricity & toilets, thus getting rid of the toilet and shower block, and upped the rent hugely. I assume he sold out to the developers for the houses that are now there, although curiously he applied and was given a license to build a clubhouse not too long before the houses turned up. I'm unclear when this happened but it was a hell of a shock to discover that all that was left was the shop practically razed to the ground and the little bridge. Does anyone remember Martins cafe on the corner of William St and the High Street? I think Joe Martin ran a concession at Tankerton and bought the cafe. The shop was about ten shops down and opposite Ron Edwards fishing tackle shop. Finally, does anyone know or remember Clair Male? Her stepfather used to farm the land between Bishopstone and Reculver and lived in the house on the corner opposite Fitts caravan site?
Blimey Phill. There's long and there's LONG. I tried to find the original version of the hbay site as I had more details about the Fairy Glen, including the bit about the Robinsons but that version would have been on my old laptop (the one that got nicked). Th eonly photos I got to see were in one of the "Herne Bay In Photographs" books but it was a very grainy old B&W photo. I wasn't prepared to pay a tenner for the sake of one photo so it was never included. | |
| 12 July | Mandi Hunt | Amazed to find your site as if someone had invented just what I wanted! I was also amazed to see Bishopstone Glen - I never knew what it was called, but this is where I used to go on holiday as a child and used to walk over the "fairy glen" bridge to get down to the beach. I went back about 12 years ago and looked down over the little bridge but I am not sure that any of the statues were still there, although the old sweet shop was there all boarded up, where I used to buy animals made of tiny shells. It's a strange feeling going back like that.
I wanted to ask; can you get there without going down those steps? My children are 2 and 4 and although we could get down the impressive new steps, I'd rather not. Can I walk round from somewhere else where its not so steep or would that take too long? (of course we'll need to park the car first). We're hoping to go in a couple of weeks, so if you know the tides that would be a big help. You might already know, but if not you might like to, that years ago you could easily pick up semi-precious stones on the beach including the most beautiful moonstones (which sadly I didn't keep!) I remember the tide going out a long way and picking winkles. It really was the most magical place for a child, back in the early '70s. Anyway, hope you can help, and many thanks.
Hi Mandi. Yes, you can get to Bishopstone Glen without going down the 100 steps. There is a car park at the end of Reculver Drive. Once there, you'll see a path leading down to the beach. Get onto the prom at the bottom and head east. The concrete causeway stops at the bottom of the glen. It's a bit of a jump onto the beach but not difficult, even for a littl'un. It should take you no more than 5 minutes to get to the foot of the glen from the car, even allowing for toddler legs. Tides shouldn't be a problem, as you'll still be able to walk at the foot of the cliffs without getting wet. I'll see if I can get hold of the 2006 tide tables to give you an indication. | |
| 9 July | Jill | Sweden | Hi Steve, Hi! I just wanted to say a really BIG thankyou for your site about Kent, especially my wonderful home town of Herne Bay. The photographs and info are all just great. Really appreciate it :) P.S. Good Luck with your move. You're more than welcome, Jill. All I have to do now is correct the guestbook page in order to make it easier for me to post comments. Perhaps now is the time to set up one of those forum pages..... |
| 9 July | Amy Admans | USA | Steve? I don't know if I have contracted you previously. My family is from Herne Bay. I have never been there, though I wish that I have. My grandfather came to America in 1910 leaving behind his 5 other siblings, mother and father. The family name is Admans. I have found a census showing their dwelling in 1881 at 17 William Street. I have seen, on your site that 17 William Street is now "Greensteads" I am not sure what that is but I saw someone wrote to you in your guestbook and I believe it to be a butcher shop? Is this correct? Anyway; they said that they saw a photo. I would wish to see this photo as well. Is it still in your possession? I have searched your website and cannot find it.
Hello, Amy. Thanks for the note. When I saw the surname, my initial instinct was to read it as "Adnams", which is the butcher in Beltinge High Street. Greensteds, on the other hand, was indeed a butcher and fishmonger and stands on the corner of Mortimer Street and William Street. I found the photos from an earlier incarnation of the site but the picture quality is very poor, I'm afraid. Still, you can see what the place looked liked, click here. |
| 8 July | Audrey Moore | Frankston North, Victoria, OZ | Just a quick note to say we hope that you settle in quickly and are happy in your new abode. Sorry we won't be there for the house warming but the good wishes are none the less sincere.
Thanks a lot, Audrey. At the time of writing (11 July), I'm still very much in a muddle, with a number of boxes all around. I feel that there'll be a good few that stay packed until I move on again. the flat is considerably smaller than my Tankerton place. Still; it's home. for now. |
