Chas & Dave: Margate

Track of the Week - 16 October 2016

While we were on holiday last week touring bits of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire,  Mrs Tea at Johnny's and I spent a few hours in Margate.

My dad is from there and a couple of generations before him too. We spent many summer holidays there when I was young, staying with our grandparents, enjoying the beaches and Dreamland amusement park.

I hadn't been back to Margate since my teens so as we were an hour or so away I thought it was worth a look. We visited the Turner Contemporary Gallery which opened five years ago and the shell grotto.

On the whole though, Margate has the feel of having been neglected for a long time. Faded seaside glamour if you will. Very faded. I don't think I'll feel the need to go back.

At around the time of my previous visit, rockney* duo Chas & Dave were producing their single dedicated to the town. Margate reached number 46 in 1982 and was used in the classic 1999 Only Fools and Horses Christmas special The Jolly Boys Outing - the one where a coach blows up.



* A portmanteau of rock and cockney. They manage to rhyme target with Margate.