How Southend is seen

[Tony Allen]

Just noticed a Which Report where Southend is almost bottom of a best seaside town survey. I haven't lived there since the middle 70s but on my occasional visits I have been pleasantly surprised by the seafront and most of the town now city. So as this is a football forum I was just wondering how Southend is seen. When I mention where I'm from (and Essex too) it just brings up stereotypes and I'm definitely not a cockney geezer!

 

[ace]

I expect lazy reporting, concentrating on the less attractive parts. Southend has a lot more to offer than the high street and the one arm bandit shops.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Thorpe Bay is nice. Westcliff is on the way up. Leigh is on the way down.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

News stories.
-
Tree kills child
Muslim terrorist murders MP
Yobs rampage seafront with machettes
Football fan kicked to death outside pub
Lagoon goes green with slime
Beaches lose blue flags over water quality.

V
+
Pier pop up cafe has famous visitors
Leigh voted best place to live in UK
Football club back from extinction over achieves
beautiful parks and gardens
Grammer schools achieve top results
Iconic Hadleigh Castle
RSPB Wallasea welcomes rare species
Seals greet Spanish galleon at pier.

 

[johnlattimerssponge]

Without doubt certain areas of Southend have declined over the years but you do not need to go to many away games to realise there are other places far worse you could be living.

 

[* ORM *]

Southend is a ****hole but it’s MY ****HOLE!

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

You mention the seafront, it's changed massively, for the better. Much more attractive nowadays, and more family friendly. The trouble and brawls tend to be from day tripper gangs from London Boroughs. Thankfully it doesn't happen often, and I've not seen one bit of trouble down there for years, personally. Whereas back in the 70s it was like the wild west, with fights and mass brawls everywhere. In the Seaway car park on a summer Saturday, there would be 40-100 coaches, mostly from the London areas, and Herts, etc. They were stag party's, hen party's, cockney beano's, which all gave way to a pub crawl along the seafront. Coach party's would clash. I more or less lived down there in the 70s, and saw multiple fights every summer Saturday. A lot of the coach party's would end up in Quills disco, now Chinnery's.(Eddie Quill's place. He came from the East End Quill family of boxers. They took over pubs and clubs that were known for trouble. Patsy and Jimmy Quill were meant to have been the landlords of the Blind Beggar, according to some). I used to go to Quill's, as I got on with Eddie, and would help out now and again. Some nights were really great in there when the drink was flowing and everyone was getting on and happy. Other nights, it was all out war, and the whole place kicked off. They were the first to introduce plastic glasses on the seafront, after many glassing's.
Anyway, back to the main point, Southend seafront is a much better place daytime and night time nowadays. Much safer, all CCTVd up. It's been smartened up. It's the only place I actually agree with the 20mph speed limit.
As for the City centre, it's declining. The London Boroughs are sending their problem homeless down here, proven to have done so for years. Just park up and see what happens in York Road and Warrior Square almost every day, as the druggies and dealers do their business, and the fights and squabbles that follow. So for me, the seafront is really good now, but the City Centre is in decline. How they can say it's almost bottom of the best seaside town/city survey, I don't know. I've been to a few, and they are much tackier and nastier.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

Without doubt certain areas of Southend have declined over the years but you do not need to go to many away games to realise there are other places far worse you could be living.

Quite right. Just popping down to Old Leigh for a walk. Tragic what happened in Chalkwell Park but it is a fantastic park along with all the others. Sports wise pretty good Garons etc, Low unemployment. A few dodgy areas but overall pretty decent town. Has problems but where else doesn’t. Cheer up and think where you could live.

 

[OldBlueLady]

News stories.
-
Tree kills child
Muslim terrorist murders MP
Yobs rampage seafront with machettes
Football fan kicked to death outside pub
Lagoon goes green with slime
Beaches lose blue flags over water quality.

V
+
Pier pop up cafe has famous visitors
Leigh voted best place to live in UK
Football club back from extinction over achieves
beautiful parks and gardens
Grammer schools achieve top results
Iconic Hadleigh Castle
RSPB Wallasea welcomes rare species
Seals greet Spanish galleon at pier.

Missed off the airport which is a tremendous asset, and which often attracts the likes of the Red Arrows and the BBMF (as this weekend) for stop overs.

 

[* ORM *]

Southend is a ****hole but it’s MY ****HOLE!

On a slightly more serious point. Southend sea front is 100 times better than when I was a kid. East beach has a decent makeover and Old Leigh will always be as I’ve ever remembered it.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

On a slightly more serious point. Southend sea front is 100 times better than when I was a kid. East beach has a decent makeover and Old Leigh will always be as I’ve ever remembered it.

I can't say I agree with much of that.
I worked in the kiosks at each end of the pier over the summers of 74/75 and have only got good memories of how it was.
Also remember the old Westcliff Lido pool, Peter Pans, Never Never Land, boating lake, and Arnold Palmers from then. Add in the Roller skating on Pier Hill, Status Quo live at The Kursall, Real Thing and others at Talk of The South. What not to like?
Admittedly got crap in the 90s and most pubs were poor.
Are there any decent clubs left? And discos - we had a few that folks travelled hours to get in.

 

[RHB]

As with all towns and cities, there's good and bad with Southend and area. I've lived in Westcliff for 50 years, and for my part, we love the seafront, especially the Chalkwell end and we regularly use the restaurants along the seafront. The pier is also a favourite with us, as are the Cliffs Pavilion and the Palace Theatre. It's dead easy and fashionable to slag off the old place but the jewel in my crown is that within Southend is Roots Hall, and it doesn't get any better than that as a place to go. The Which report also makes Clacton worse than us, so there you go.

We're retired now so we often drive through from Chalkwell down to Thorpe Bay, and the number of coaches that descend on the city during the summer tells me that Southend is still a very popular place to visit, and you try finding a parking spot on Western Esplanade during the summer months.

 

[Mad Cyril]

On a slightly more serious point. Southend sea front is 100 times better than when I was a kid. East beach has a decent makeover and Old Leigh will always be as I’ve ever remembered it.

It is nothing like how I remember it.

 

[* ORM *]

I can't say I agree with much of that.
I worked in the kiosks at each end of the pier over the summers of 74/75 and have only got good memories of how it was.
Also remember the old Westcliff Lido pool, Peter Pans, Never Never Land, boating lake, and Arnold Palmers from then. Add in the Roller skating on Pier Hill, Status Quo live at The Kursall, Real Thing and others at Talk of The South. What not to like?
Admittedly got crap in the 90s and most pubs were poor.
Are there any decent clubs left? And discos - we had a few that folks travelled hours to get in.

It’s definitely subjective. I was a kid in the 70s so I totally get your POV but can’t relate to it. I could similarly argue about the demise following a few beers in Papillon then upstairs to ToTs. And Zero 6 was definitely a thing back in my day.

 

[Mad Cyril]

And Zero 6 was definitely a thing back in my day.

Did you have one of those suits with multi coloured flecks in them?

 

[* ORM *]

Did you have one of those suits with multi coloured flecks in them?

No but I did have pair of jeans with a stripe down the outside of the legs and a checked shirt! Oh and highlighted hair!

 

[AndyH]

That Which report gave 2 stars out of 5 for Pier and Seafront. Without commenting on the promenade, which I personally find nice for walking or running on, the Pier being the longest pleasure pier in the World, trains to and from end, pub and many special events, how on earth was that beaten by 100 other resorts for that ranking. Makes whole report little value to me. I had friends come over from Los Angeles and they loved their walk down and ride back, followed by an afternoon in a few Old Leigh bars and on Boathouse jetty.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

On a recent visit to SOS a white caucasian taxi driver described the town to me as a ****hole.NOt sure I agree with him,as I said "it might be a ****hole to some but to me it's my hometown."

 

[Mad Cyril]

On a recent visit to SOS a white caucasian taxi driver described the town to me as a ****hole.NOt sure I agree with him,as I said "it might be a ****hole to some but to me it's my hometown."

All the animals come out at night: whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies... sick, venal.

Someday, a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets.

 

[Mr Plow]

Just spent the afternoon down there in the Westcliff end and it was absolutley glorious, as far away from a 'sh1th0le' as you're ever likely to see. We had lunch at Oyster Creek Kitchen (lobster roll, salad and a mojito for me) and it was bl00dy fantastic. Then, a wander down to the beautiful Rossi Ice Cream parlour, who, had the absolute audacity sell us delicious, local ice cream, I know right? Unbelievable I hear you say.

Crossed the road and sat on a bench looking out over the estuary as high tide approached with a sublime sea breeze to take the edge off the heat. There were many, many familys having fun including a small girl who found a tiny dead crab and by the way she reacted, it was like she'd found a bar of gold. Not a hint of trouble anywhere. Paddle boarders making there way back and forth, a guy on an electric surfboard who spent 50% of the time falling off but I'm sure was having a great time. Sail boats, motorboats, jetskis the lot.

Then had a slow walk past the packed restaurants at the arches and up Shorefield road past more packed restaurants (Padrino's, Piccolo's etc, might have to try those one day as they looked great). Finally back to the car in the car park around the corner and then we drove all the way along the seafront to Shoebury and then headed home.