Category: Nostalgia

Herman Remote Controlled

By Maggie George (illustration, Mike Hall) Like many people, I find it so satisfying at the end of a hard day to be able to come in from the cold winter chill and settle in front of the television. I love to watch my favourite programmes which I’ve recorded and promised myself I’d catch up with at a later date. Continue reading Herman Remote Controlled

All Our Yesteryears

 By Jim Hollands

Who were the driving forces in the town fifty years ago? Who were in power at Rye Town Hall in the 1960’s? What was it like to live in a democratic Rye that ran its own affairs and was responsible for its own planning? 1965 and 66 were great years for Rye. The Borough Council was made up of twelve elected councillors and four Aldermen nominated by the councillors. Alderman  John  Hacking, farmer, was Mayor. He was hard working and influential, leading a group of excellent men and women who were all labouring to benefit Rye and the people of Rye. Continue reading All Our Yesteryears

Gungarden as I Knew it

The Gungarden Area as I knew it

By Arthur Woodgate

The Methodist Sunday school had not been there for long when I was a lad. It had been all open ground, the chapel opposite in a recess, but a bit older, it was build on what was quite a valuable piece of ground, the soldiers drilling area, where Continue reading Gungarden as I Knew it

The Globe Inn – Rye

The Pubs of Rye No. 4

The Globe Inn

by David Russell

The Globe opened in 1834 when a 50 year lease on this piece of land was granted to John Wheeler by the Reverend Lamb of Iden. John Wheeler, a beer retailer, then became the Globe’s first landlord. The lease included the cliff behind the pub which descends from Playden Heights, with its ‘pendants [overhanging parts] being part and parcel of the property’. A fairly large cave in the face of the cliff was also included in the lease. The annual rent was £127. Continue reading The Globe Inn – Rye

Things Long Ago

Jimper Reminisces on a Lost World

Once on Romney Marsh not so long ago, it was a very unhealthy place to live. There was a dreaded thing that was called the Ague, a disease we now know was a type of malaria, caused by the mosquito which lived in the water that covered a lot of the flat land. The local remedy for the Ague was said to be to swallow a spider, whole, wrapped up in its own web. The sheer thought of doing so must have made many people suddenly recover from the illness rather than take the cure! Continue reading Things Long Ago

Remembering Woolies

BY TONY MAY

The recent news that long-established Electrical Retailers, ‘Comet’ are to go into administration has had quite an effect on me. Always one to spend a fair amount of my time thinking of the past anyway, to see again the same tragic circumstances occurring, which, five years ago (yes, it has been that long already!) led to the closure of the beloved ‘Woolworths’ chain has made me very sad indeed. Continue reading Remembering Woolies

One Thing and Another

   All who live close to the sea will be enthralled by
                    One thing and another

By An English coastal town can sometimes feel like the end of the line but despite its grand Victorian buildings almost crumbling into the sea, Hastings is quirky, bohemian and fun. Even so, post-war baby boomers Abi, Rita, Bill and Leo are feeling adrift. As they face up to becoming a certain age, things are getting tougher. With the credit crunch officially shifting into recession, the town’s struggling low pay economy begins to bite harder. Continue reading One Thing and Another

Celebrating 30 years in Rye

Older people at Devonport House in Rye celebrated 30 years since the Queen Mother opened their retirement housing site with a party for friends, family and local people on Friday 8 June. Continue reading Celebrating 30 years in Rye

Arthur’s Cinque Ports Street Part Two

By Arthur Woodgate

From the new shops to the corner of Market Road where Jempson’s now have a restaurant. That building has housed many businesses in my life. Don’t know how long but not too many hundreds of years ago customers would have got their feet wet stepping out of there into Cinque Ports Street. Slip across the bottom of Market Road from Jempsons Restaurant to Phillips & Stubbs – a nice big new looking building where they sell houses. I said new looking, well to me it is new, I Continue reading Arthur’s Cinque Ports Street Part Two