OH! I do like to be beside the seaside! That popular ditty, penned more than a century ago and fondly remembered by many older people as the signature tune of star organist Reginald Dixon in his national radio broadcasts, summarises the feelings of many Britons who do not share our good fortune in being resident near the shore.
Yes, we lucky locals in the Great Yarmouth neighbourhood enjoy the proximity of sea and sand even if the sunshine element is sometimes elusive. We will still be here when the sun beams out again whereas holidaymakers and trippers must feel miffed if their visit coincides with inclement weather.
Today my weekly feature is dominated by pictures, taken in the Eighties by a photographer who, judging from the many shots he has sent me, did not see us looking at our warm and sunlit best when he visited Yarmouth, perhaps early or late season because most of the holiday spots where he snapped were not bustling with activity.
Nevertheless, his candid photographs capture not only a town we love whatever the weather but also visitors and locals old and young. True, they do not resemble shots illustrating our official holiday guides that naturally portray us as a Technicolor sun-drenched paradise, but they do show that our guests were quite content to be here despite the need for a woolly.
Although most of the photographs depict sea-front locations, some appear to have been taken elsewhere – in the Market Place, for example. Those depicted are not exclusively pensioners. And some are locals, not visitors.
Behind the camera was amateur photographer Chris Porsz during a visit to Yarmouth with his family in the 1980s. How did I come by them? Coincidence!
Our daughter and paramedic Chris both work at Peterborough’s main hospital and often chat to one another on the ward. When mention was made of his 1980s photographic activity hereabouts, she suggested that he should let me browse through his portfolio to see if I would like to publish any with this column.
Chris tells me: “As they are unusual, I am sure they would make a feature of great interest and impact.” He admits that “time has not been kind to some of them.” Nonetheless, they have a distinct Eighties look.
The 1980s will be featured in his next book: “I have reunited 50 sets of random strangers from the Eighties and written a story about what became of them.”
His website is at: www.chrisporsz.com
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