It was the summer of 1963 when John walked in the front door and slumped into his comfy armchair. He said to his wife Rose ‘I’m fed up with this journey backwards and forwards to work, the train between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford is so overcrowded, and more often than not it’s cancelled or delayed, I’ve had enough!’
Later that evening John and Rose were chatting about a place called East Anglia. Their daughter Angela had no idea what East Anglia was, she thought she’d look it up in her atlas later, but she forgot as she was too interested in Emergency Ward 10 on the television.
A few weeks later, after their evening meal, John and Rose sat Angela down and told her that dad had a new job in East Anglia, Angela’s ears pricked up at the words ‘East Anglia’ – she’d forgotten to look it up. A couple of years earlier John had been offered a job in Tanganyika, I think it’s called Tanzania now, perhaps East Anglia was near there.
About a month later the family arrived by train to Lowestoft. It was very windy, unbelievably windy. Angela saw a sign ‘to the beach’, so they followed the signs. As they got close there seemed to be a hold up, and the family had never seen so many bikes. When they got to the hold up they could see the road had disappeared and a boat was in front of them, well that was a novelty! Angela was very excited!
Oh and the beach! Rose and Angela wished they had their swimming costumes in their bags. John didn’t swim and wasn’t too keen on sand. The beach was the largest Angela had ever seen, just golden soft sand that went on for miles. They sat and watched the waves and the sparkly water. The sign for doughnuts was too tempting. How delicious they were, the family all ended up with sugary, sticky fingers and lips, they couldn’t stop licking them.
The next day they set off to look for somewhere to live, Rose and John particularly like Oulton Broad. Anglea liked it but not as much as the beach,
John had heard there were new bungalows being built, so they went and looked. It was just a muddy field. Anglea couldn’t imagine anything could be built in all that mud and rubbish, but her parents paid the deposit and were told the bungalow would be finished in 4 months.
The family caught the train back home the next day but not before Angela had seen some very strangely dressed young men!!!
Back at home Angela was excited and apprehensive starting her new life – school. Where was it, would she like it? Friends, would she make new friends and what about her old friends?
Move day arrived with lots of tears from friends and neighbours. Angela feared how she would cope, knowing no-one or where anything was in O.B or Lowestoft.
The move day was extremely cold, wind, rain and sleet. It was so cold that first night in the newly built bungalow, with no heating, Angela went to bed with two hot water bottles and socks and a cardigan on.
Next morning was sunny although cold, Angela was allowed to go for a walk. She tried to remember things she walked past, houses, trees, names of roads, she was very scared she’d get lost. She found Normanston Park although a small park, she thought it was very pretty. It had a tennis court and Angela loved playing tennis. That afternoon Rose went with Angela to visit her new school. It seemed much smaller than her old school and teachers were so old! Angela was to start there the next Monday.
That Monday arrived very quickly. Angela apprehensively entered the school gates and joined her class. No one spoke to her! At break time a couple of the girls asked questions about where she came from and why she spoke differently. To Angela she spoke normally , it was the rest of the class who spoke differently.
Oh how Angela missed her old school and friends. One lesson that day was French, for the past 2 and a half years Angela had been learning German. She was just given book 1 French and left to get on with it. There was no physics or chemistry lessons but Angela did learn how to make a bed and iron a shirt.
Angela spent 18 months at the school in Lowestoft and couldn’t wait to leave, she was really unhappy. But she did learn who the strangely dressed young men were…fisher boys.
Angela got a hairdressing apprenticeship, there she met a great group of girls and a couple of guys, several of whom were new to Lowestoft. They all got on like a house on fire, going out on a Saturday night to the Nautilus club on the South Pier. They danced the night away to – The Kinks, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, The Who, Procal Harem, Spencer Davies, Pink Floyd. They didn’t sit down all evening.
It was the time of Mods and Rockers, Mods had scooters and wore smart clothes and a parka. Rockers had motorbikes, greasy hair and leather jackets. Every bank holiday, Great Yarmouth was filled with two rival groups, quite often fights broke out between the two groups.
In Angela’s lunch break she often went for a walk with another apprentice, Kathy. They always discussed who had the best scooter in Lowestoft, and which boy they liked. Angela commented that she had liked the red scooter that had pulled up at the traffic lights. Kathy said ‘I know him. It’s Tim. I’m certain he will take you for a ride out.’ Angela thought Kathy was joking. About a week later Kathy said that Tim would meet Angela and take her for a ride. That ride was one of many.
And now to 2026.
Angela and Tim have been married for 55 years. They still live in the same house they bought in 1971. The red vespa scooter is long gone. Angela still loves the sea front and she and Tim walk along the prom several times a week. The beach is still as glorious as it was all those years ago. Especially when the sun shines on the water and it sparkles.
After the rough start Angela had in Lowestoft, she is so glad she moved to Lowestoft and that she hadn’t stayed in London or moved to Tanganika.
