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All 30.12.1985 copyright Steve Sainsbury

LA has or had a few icons, the river is one of course, the promenade another. But for me the defining image of LA, at least when I was growing up, was Butlins (or Smarts as it later became).

It was just the place you went when you were a kid. You'd spend some time at the beach, then round it off with a trip to Butlins, mainly to see if you could knock a few pennies out of the machines! Watching the dodgems, waltzer, Wild Mouse and Speedway were fun as well.

My grandad knew Sir Billy Butlin and was his right hand man for a while down at Littlehampton in the early days. Sir Billy even visisted my grandad's house in Wick Street a few times. (Funnily enough Sir Billy also has strong connections with where I live now, in Bristol).

Many years later (late 70s, early 80s) I got some casual work on the dodgems after Gary Smart took over, and that was a seriously fun job! My brother and his best mates all worked there full time at the same time, and we'd spend every night in the Windmill after work.

It really doesn't seem the same now, the epic facade which dominated this part of the riverside is gone, and the seedy slightly edgy feel of the place has completely gone. But the memories are still there!

Remember, this blog welcomes extra information and especially pictures and these can be added to this post. Simply email info and/or pics to me at leysiner@aol.com