Well I thought it time to re-visit the old ancestral home for the first time in absolutely ages. And when cousins Belinda and Clive suggested breakfast it was an easy task to get in the car and drive there.
Not for us the A47 Acle straight. We prefer to go the back road to Caister and past the greyhound station, left round the racecourse and onto the sea front where you can park free of charge all day if you are far enough away from the main drag where you will be charged copious amounts of cash.
That route also takes you through the village of Filby which is long and strung out. But they have found a fabulous way of making people keep to the 30 mph speed limit. It's called a "Village of Flowers." The place is just ablaze with colour and flowers. It happens every year and it's a wonder missed by all the people that stick to the main A47. You can't help but drive very slowly through it.
But back to the parking question. I always think demarcation zones are strange things. Park in place A and it can cost you £10 for instance. Park 10 yards back from that and it's free. Same as in the theatre. You might pay £25 for a seat. Sit one row further forward where the view of the stage is essentially the same and it will cost you £35.
Anyway back to the idiots of Great Yarmouth. You will see from my photographs that we found two instances of signs banning stupid people. Some might say there are quite a few of them in Yarmouth but I couldn't possibly comment.
We breakfasted at a cafe or was it an hotel opposite the Britannia Pier which used to be owned by comedian Jim Davidson or did I dream that? Anyway he's still appearing there although he must be past his sell by date by now. Actually he's still younger than me and, of course, always will be.
In the past the pier was at the cutting edge of entertainment with the likes of Morecambe and Wise in their heyday and virtually every other top artist. Now it seems a touch sad with a run of entertainers who it might be said have seen better days.
As we had no grandchildren with us there was no need to go on the famous snails at Joyland although I was tempted. Surely you don't have to have young children with you to go on the snails.
We then perambulated along the prom prom prom tiddly om pom pom and turned off opposite Merrivale Model Village where they no longer have a couple of elderly figures welcoming you - one of whom was called Peter which always amused my granddaughter that there were two of us with the same first name. Anyway Peter has been replaced by a model donkey. Not sure what that says.
Any visit to Yarmouth will show you the good, the bad and various shades of ugly. Go back a couple of blocks from the seafront and into the industrial areas and it is quite ugly indeed. Mind you the once glorious Winter Gardens still continue to deteriorate, although there are plans to bring them back to their former glory. The Marina Centre is also being re-developed. Not sure where all the fish went, although I hope they didn't find their way onto the menu at Harry Ramsden's nearby. That shop incidentally was once featured on one of those kitchen horror programmes on the television.
The reason for our trip into the more ugly part of Yarmouth was to find the Banksy on Admiralty Road. It wasn't too difficult to track down and some photos are included. Unfortunately it has been covered in perspex which slightly diminishes its effectiveness, but it's fully understandable why this has been done.
We then made the long walk to the South Quay. You will notice amongst my photos a number of pictures of signs with the names of various Rows. The Yarmouth Rows are famous or infamous for miles around (well 10 miles anyway). They were small alleyways with houses facing each other and so close to each other that people could reach out from the windows and shake hands with those living opposite. There is a very good mock-up of a Yarmouth Row in the town's Time and Tide museum.
Many of my ancestors lived in the Rows. I must do more research to establish the name or number of their Rows. Most of the Rows are today alleyways or no longer exist, although one of them has been turned into a rather nice shopping arcade. On South Quay (incidentally where one of my ancestors once had a painter and decorator business) there is a new art gallery. This was open as part of the Norfolk Heritage Open Events.
OK I promise I'm not going to do a rant on modern art but I do have to mention this exhibition which featured an artist by the name of John Kiki. First the good news - the gallery has free entry and regular exhibitions. It will have a cafe and it's in a 17th century merchant's house. It's run by the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and has quite a history that I may return to at a later date. The next exhibition will revolve around circus and will be held in conjunction with the brilliant Hippodrome circus. Now the bad news - I didn't get on well with Mr Kiki and his Infanta (or should that be infantile) paintings. I know art is a personal thing but have a look at the photos and make up your own mind.
I hate artists who hit upon an idea and then repeat it over and over and over. To me the paintings were childish. John Kiki apparently is one of the Great Yarmouth Five which makes it sound as if he's a criminal who has been wrongly accused of something. Perhaps that something is crimes against art. But once again I will leave it up to you to decide on that.
According to the Internet the artist has developed a unique style, a fusion between figurative painting, abstraction and Pop Art. Ho Hum.
We decided at this point to hop on a bus to go to Gorleston to try to find another Banksy. At its closest points there are just a couple of hundred yards between Yarmouth and Gorleston but it's currently a few miles by road. Thankfully after talking about it for many years they are planning a third crossing over the river which should take away much of the hassle.
Problem is the High Street is quite a walk from the seafront. As a young fledgling I spent quite some time in Gorleston staying with my great aunt and uncle, Harry and Gladys Sandall, in Bells Road. But that was so long ago that I have forgotten my way around. I remember my great uncle always used to kid me that he was an international draughts champion and I believed him. He said he had trophies in his attic but when he died not surprisingly none were found. Neither do I remember ever playing him at draughts. I think I taught him how to play chess which I thought a touch strange as surely a champion draughts player would be able to play chess as well.
We eventually did find the seafront and what a fabulous sandy beach. And then there's the Pier Hotel which was made famous (or infamous) as a setting in the film "Yesterday". They had hundreds of extras on the beach in front of the hotel. I have more memories of the Cliff Hotel though. When I was a young reporter at Lowestoft I often came over to the Cliff for a drink with friends from Yarmouth. In addition I remember going there regularly with my parents. I know not why. I have a vivid memory of a rock song that I came to associate with the Cliff and which helped to get me into rock music. This was "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks with its killer guitar riff.
This single came out in August 1964 and made it to number one in September of that year. I would have been 11 years of age at the time. I will always associate that sound with Gorleston.
We had a cup of tea at the Beach Cafe (damn good coffee cake) and found the Banksy in a shelter and then caught the bus back to Yarmouth and walked back to the car. I was rather disappointed by what was happening (or should that be not happening) at the Victorian Waterways. They promised live music and much more as part of the heritage event. There was a Punch and Judy show for kids and a few boats out on the water but nothing more. So we didn't linger long before driving home.
Hope you enjoy some of the photographs.