Cliff Cafe, Cliftonville Lido, Margate, England 1950s

This is a wonderful example of the golden age of lidos in Britain, the large recreational centres that were built when sea bathing was a popular leisure pursuit. With indoor or outdoor pools, these huge complexes had changing facilities, cafes and bars. This menu is from the Cliftonville Lido in Margate, Kent, and it gives a wonderful and nostalgic snapshot of life in the 1950s. Splash about in the indoor pool filled with salty water and then have oxtail soup and steak pie and chips for lunch. Tea, Horlick’s and ice cream sodas were on the drinks menu in the cafe. In the bar, where Les Shannon and his band played nightly, you could dance the bunny hop or the boogie woogie and order everything from champagne to pints of stout. The back list of the menu lists entertainments “ to suit every mood and taste” including bingo sessions, ballroom dancing and billiards and table tennis.

Courtesy Private Collection.

Each print is accompanied by a copy of the interior menu where available.

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