A poetic look back at a trip from Newcastle to the coast in the 1920s.
The bus arrives
We all get on
We are going to the seaside
My heart leaps
I have only heard people talk about it
But never seen it
The bus is going too slowly
I want to get there
Mum has made piles of sandwiches
Saw her put the teapot in the basket
We’re here somebody yells
Come on dear here is the seaside
Why is Mum stuffing my dress down my knickers
Then I see it. The sea.
On my bare feet the sand feels warm
The sea is blue with big white waves
This is real, I have only seen it in pictures
When I look back I know that was my very first ever
Golden day.
Oh the joy of it all
Kitty Brightwell, Shiremoor Scribblers
Table Rocks Pool, Whitley Bay
Postcard from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Collection