Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
A day at the arcades in 1980s Kent
Games like Pac-man and Space Invaders would regularly draw teens wearing jackets – leather, bomber or corduroy – from across the district to arcades on Herne Bay seafront in the 1980s. At the same time, day-trippers from London would step through the doors of Cain’s Amusements, where they would join local families playing bingo and pensioners hunched over coin-pushers.
Budding photographer George Wilson was working in the Central Parade arcade in 1982. He would smuggle his camera into the premises and snap away, unwittingly creating snapshots that provided a glimpse into life in the town 40 years ago.
“I was supposed to be working there, not taking photos,” he tells former Canterbury Christ Church University student Shaun Vincent.
“I used to take my camera down secretly and take a few pictures. They couldn’t throw me out because I used to work there.
“I just photographed it because of the people. The arcades were just a haven for young people. They used to meet in there, have a cup of tea, coffee, play the machines.
“Then of course there were the visitors. What few visitors we used to have in Herne Bay back in the day, they used to go and play in there as well. “The biggest part of the arcade was the bingo. It was the lifeblood in the summer. It was really, really busy.” Those taking part in games of bingo would spend their time sat behind terminals, some puffing away on Marlboros, as they vied for prizes such as tins of corned beef and boxes of Persil or Daz washing powder.
The winnings were supplied by one of the owners, who would go out each week to the nearby cash-and-carry to purchase a van-load of groceries. George’s pictures captured people staring thoughtfully at the terminals in front of them, a nun deep in thought with her mouth agape, and women adjusting numbers as they cradled their children and dogs. Pointing to an image of a couple wrapped in coats, Mr Wilson adds: “This is obviously in the
‘The biggest part of the arcade was the bingo. It was the lifeblood in the summer. It was really, really busy…’
winter and quite empty. In the summer it was quite full. “This couple here seem really happy.
“It’s quite a picture because you can see the bingo games, but you can also see the rubbish people used to play for.
“All this food and stuff was prizes. They would play for an afternoon and pick up a tin of corned beef – ludicrous really.”
But in the arcade, George would often see children stood agog around pals playing on one of the site’s myriad gaming machines.
The youngsters, many with mops of hair, would congregate at games such as Joust and Popeye. George describes this as a “phenomenon”.
The building’s ‘fug’ also seems to emanate from the collection
of pictures.
One shows a boy in his teens bringing a lit match to a cigarette perched between his lips inside the amusements.
A pair of young men were also captured, deep in conversation next to one of the consoles, holding smokes.
But it’s a photo of another smoker, a middle-aged gent in a polo shirt, that presents what
George calls a “real macho man”.
Potbellied and moustachioed, the visitor is about to uncoil a punch on a boxing machine. In his left hand, meanwhile, is his lit cigarette.
“This is one of my favourite pictures,” George says.
“It’s a real ‘macho man’ trying to make the punchbag go ‘gong’ or whatever they do. I like the way everybody’s smoking, cigarettes everywhere.
“He’s the complete antithesis to the modern man. The modern man would be slim and bearded, but he’s kind of fat and terribly badly dressed.”
George spent two years working as a bingo caller at Cain’s. His photos reveal features of ‘80s life that have since faded from existence. “They’re quite atmospheric and historical documents,” George continues.
“I didn’t think there was any future for them or that they’d be used; that’s just what I did at the time. “Photography does one thing really well: record an event. That’s what I did really.”