NOSTALGIA

Can You Go Home Again?

Possibly, but it may no longer feel like home

Ramsgate, Kent (Unless noted, photos by author)

I no longer post on Facebook or spend much time on it — except for a strange fascination with a group called We Love Old Ramsgate. It’s mostly a collection of old photos and nostalgic reminiscences of a time when the seaside town on England’s southeast coast was a happier place than it is today.

Since I grew up in Ramsgate during the 1950s and early ‘60s, I visit the site mostly to see if there are names of people I might once have known. So far, the only name I’ve recognised was the leader of my Girl Guide troop. There was a picture of her (which I didn’t recognise) leading a parade of Girl Guides through the centre of town. I vaguely recall participating in a couple of parades, so I looked closely to see if I might be in the picture. I wasn’t.

Photos from We Love Old Ramsgate, Facebook group

While it’s interesting to look at pictures of places I vaguely remember, it’s strange to think this small, slightly dreary town where I lived from early childhood into my teens was once home. Looking back, it seemed exciting in the summer when it was filled with holidaymakers from London and the north and boring in the winter…