Where do I start with 1963? The introduction to my very own school appointed bully who plagued my life rotten for almost two years? The beginning of my long-term fascination with the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine? The embarrassment of riches that poured forth from the numerous cinema screens in and around Margate? The debut of two of my all-time favourite shows on TV? Let’s hold off on those last two items until next week and concentrate instead on how, during the first three months of 1963, I ran the risk of having my gonads frozen off on a daily basis before they’d even descended properly. Ladies and gentlemen (I am obliged to point out that there are of course other genders now available should those not be to your liking) I give you – the Big Freeze of 62 /63.
The snow fell on an almost continuous basis from January right through to early March. The sea froze for over a mile, meaning that you could walk from Westbrook Bay to the end of the pier over by the harbour . The first image looks as though it was taken from the harbour wall, showing the frozen tide on Margate front. Note the Arlington Flats under construction in the background, a building that to this day continues to ruin the skyline along the promenade. The second image shows the harbour itself. I did not try walking on the ice myself on account of being a coward but I’ve heard a story or two about friends of mine who did and nearly regretted it on account of it wasn’t quite as thick as they might have hoped in some places.
The photos above compare how the house we moved to in Margate looked at the time versus how it looks now,. You can see in the first image that the entrance to our house is located to the right of the entrance to the hairdressers. We lived in the floors immediately above, whilst the hardware shop next door is where I would be sent to purchase copious amounts of Esso Blue paraffin to keep the home fires burning in our gaff.
These are the pupils of class 4A of Garlinge Primary school 1962 / 63, the first and only school group photograph I ever appeared in. I’m the Asian kid you can see located on the extreme left of the first row. The melting pot that is my DNA continued to impose so many changes on my appearance during my childhood that I was forced to check in the mirror almost on a daily basis in order to anticipate what kind of racist epithets would be slung in my direction once I got to school. If you’ve read the book then you’ll know that in the photo I am uncomfortably close to the bully who plagued my life for two years. On a positive note however my good friend Terry Hill (not his real last name) is sat at the other end of the same row. He doesn’t look like that now though.
This is my primary school report in which you can see the teacher has stated I have “obviously suffered from having had several changes of school” which was the understatement of the year. I ran out of fingers trying to count the number of times I had been forced to change educational establishments since I started school at the age of five in Malta. Let’s just say it was a lot and leave it at that.
The issue on the left above shows the magazine my mum unexpectedly brought home to me one day in June of 1963. I was so enamoured of “Famous Monsters of Filmland” I continued to beg, steal, borrow and steal issues of the mag from before and after that date right on into my late teens. The image on the right shows one of the earliest issues that has accompanied me on my journey in life up to the present day. And no, they’re not for sale.
And finally an image that signifies one of the greatest events of my generation, and which on occasion elicits jealousy from those who weren’t around at the time, the first Beatles LP, released in March of 1963. And no, I’m not selling this either.
Steve Mayhew 