Back To The Past - Imperial Hotel Memories

Back To The Past - Memories of The Imperial Hotel, Torquay

Well, now: further to my piece earlier this month about our Starlight Dancing holiday in Torquay, whilst we were there, I also went down another "lane of memory," returning to The Imperial Hotel for a special afternoon tea. 

I have written before about my family's associations with Torquay: Grandson Al’s paternal family is there, with cousins in Newton Abbott, and, during the war, my Grandma, my Mum and my Uncle John all worked at The Imperial Hotel. My Uncle was Secretary to the then Manager, my Mum was a Receptionist, and my Grandma was a Chambermaid, and they had such tales to tell about all the famous guests who stayed there, and during our dancing holiday, we made a really sentimental journey to The Imperial Hotel, exploring and admiring the views from the terrace, overlooking the boats in Torbay.

To remind myself of a little background to this story, whilst Uncle John was still living in Brisbane, every year he would come back to visit us for the summer, and every year we would go to places that held special memories for him, and for Mum. I would get in touch with the local press, and they were always interested to hear about his life and wanted to meet him; this always resulted in an interesting article in the paper. 

During Uncle John's stay with us in 2011, we all reminisced about the time during the war, when he, my Mum and my Grandma lived and worked in Torquay.

In 1943, my grandfather died in an accident at work; after sorting out all the paperwork that followed the tragedy, and especially since Mum's elder brother, Austin, had died in 1938, Mum, my Grandma and Uncle John felt their lives in Liverpool had become so bleak, they had to have a fresh start somewhere new. They decided on Torquay, and it turned out to be a very good move.

Torquay was in the south, on the "English Riviera," and relatively warm - at least compared to Lancashire, and the Mersey area - even palm trees flourished, and it gave them the complete change of scene they needed so much.

The Imperial Hotel in Torquay was quite famous. It attracted an upper-class clientele, and Mum was very happy when she landed a job as one of the receptionists; Uncle John, who had studied shorthand, typing and bookkeeping, was appointed as secretary to the then Manager, Mr H M Chapman. Mum told me only the best people stayed there, and would regale me with stories of the rich, titled and famous folk she had met as they checked into the hotel, and how notes were taken on cards, detailing the likes and dislikes of all the guests; these were followed implicitly by all the staff.

My Grandma also found work at the hotel as a chambermaid; she worked hard, and it took her mind off all the sadness and loss she had suffered over the previous five years. Even though she was profoundly deaf, it was a job she could do well; during their time there, Grandma worked her way up, until she was also responsible for more housekeeping duties, such as keeping a check on the linen.

Mum and Uncle John had very happy memories of the time they spent there, so when I suggested we could go back and pay a visit, he was really excited about it.

I got in touch with the Manager, Cormac O'Keefe - a charming man who made us so welcome, and took us round the hotel, pointing out things that had changed over the years. One thing that had definitely not changed, was the warmth of the hospitality! Before we left, we were invited to take afternoon tea at The Imperial - a very special occasion, and afterwards Cormac also presented us with a copy of a book about the history of the hotel.

Uncle John, Alexandra and Cormac O'Keefe
at The Imperial Hotel, Torquay, 2011

Marguerite, Uncle John's late wife, was born in nearby Paignton; before we left the west country, we were able to take Uncle John all around the Torbay area, including Paignton and Newton Abbott, for more trips down memory lane.

And now, eleven years later, we were back in Torquay; for a different reason, on a dancing holiday with Starlight Dancing, but The Imperial Hotel was still there, as inviting as ever, with magnificent views across the bay. Uncle John, my Mum and my Grandma are no longer with us, but we thought it was a great time to renew our association with a hotel that had meant so much to them.

 

The Ferry and the Speedboat: "I'm quicker than you are!" - "But I'm bigger than you are!"

Since our last visit in 2011, there is a new owner and a new manager, and happy plans are afoot to ensure The Imperial Hotel returns to its former 5-Star glory! 

 

We booked a table on the terrace, for tea for two at 2.30 p.m.  It was a glorious afternoon, with wonderful views, and how we enjoyed ourselves, sipping tea, spreading plain and sultana scones with butter (the butter was just for me!) and cream, and strawberry jam, and soaking up the atmosphere.

 

 I am sure Uncle John, my Mum and my Grandma were gently observing us and approving of us enjoying such a happy time - it was certainly a trip back in time for me, remembering how much Uncle John, Wendy and I had been treated so royally during our visit in 2011.

 Here's to the next time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary's Choice

 Mary's Choice

Havering Libraries run an annual poetry competition, and for this latest competition, selected the theme “Choices” via the National Poetry Society. I've written poetry for many years - usually about railways and steam trains, but this subject got me thinking about my Grandma, who was born in 1893, and how she would often talk to me about the time she fell in love with a young man in Liverpool.

My Grandma’s first romance began in 1911, when at Church she met a young man called Ernest Henderson Lewis. She was 17, he was 18, and every Sunday, as they walked back to her house after the service, he would carry her prayer book and hymnal for her. 

One Saturday, about a year after they had met, they went to New Brighton for the day, but on the ferry going home to Liverpool, Ernie Lewis’s father was on the same boat, and he saw them sitting together. The next day, my Grandma knew immediately that something was amiss, especially as Ernie did not carry her books for her as he usually did on the way home. When they reached her gate, he said, “We can’t see each other any more. We’re too young. If you’ve got no-one else, I’ll come back for you when you’re 27."

My Grandma told me, “Twenty-seven! That was 9 years! Nine years!” In 1912, that must have felt like a life time, and I knew that in those days, if you weren’t married by the time you were 21, a girl was considered to have been “left on the shelf.” Looking back, my Grandma also remembered so many young men had been killed in the First World War, and lots of young women missed out on getting married, anyway. When Ernie Lewis said goodbye, my Grandma said she was so bitterly unhappy, she gave up on her studies - she had a fine academic brain, and had passed the Oxford prelim. exams - she got a job and got on with her life. Her father was horrified - and furious! His reaction - delivered in strident, patriarchal tones - was: "That boy ….  has ruined your life!"

She married my Grandfather in 1916, and I'm sure she loved him, too, but until the day she died, she talked about and never forgot her first love, Ernie Lewis. She saw him once more, after she had been widowed in 1943, and before she went out to East Africa in 1948 to see where else life would take her; it was clear he had not forgotten her, either, but it was too late for them to rekindle their old flame. I'll attach a photograph of my Grandma, taken when she was 21; I think she was really beautiful, and there is such a look of wistfulness in her eyes. She often wondered what path her life would have taken, if her romance with Ernie Lewis had been allowed to flourish, and she had been able to make different choices; and we can never know what dreams and hopes are cherished in people’s minds. 

 

 My Grandma, Alice Thompson - 1914

 

 

  MARY’S CHOICE

 

“You must meet Mary!” the Matron enthused,

Trundling her out, like a prize on display:

“Her room is single and spacious, with very fine views

“Of the gardens, and beyond them, the bay!”

 

Yes, indeed, thought Mary; she was mentally fine

And could count backwards from one hundred in sevens;

She knew what to say, and how to dispense

Sweet wisdom all laced with sound common sense.

 

“You must chat to Mary!” the Matron encouraged

“She’s led such an interesting life!

“An inspiration to all whom she meets; she enchants

“She knows how to turn away strife.”

 

Mary smiles and selects what they all want to hear

Whilst another lass lives in her head:

She aches to be young, to be foolish, in love,

In a life on a pathway untrod.

 

“We all love Mary!” the Matron exclaims

“With her smile and her sweet disposition –

“She’s our resident star! And no-one gainsays

“Her ‘senior resident’ position.”

 

But at night, Mary’s wakeful, as the choices she’s made

In her life file past her in turn;

Her eyes can still dance, if her feet have grown slow

And her passions continue to burn.

 

“She is so full of joy!” the Matron disclosed,

“She’s so charming, so patient – so kind!

“A shining example of how old age can be,

“For people of similar mind!”

 

But in a covert part still resided

In Mary’s mind, things that no-one could know:

And she hugs to herself in those long, darkling hours

Her lost choices of so long ago.

 

Alexandra WIlde

 

Presentation of my poetry prize, 18 May 2022

 

 

 

We've Been On A Dancing Vacation...!

We've Been On A Dancing Vacation...!

I am sure people all over the country will have enjoyed a memorable Platinum Jubilee weekend, creating many happy memories of Her Majesty’s 70-year reign - what an inspiration she has been, and continues to be, to us all!

People will have been marking such a momentous Jubilee in a myriad of different ways, but I thought you might like to know how we celebrated this happy time. We are keen ballroom and Latin American dancers, and enjoy lessons and practise sessions at a school in Essex, called Starlight Dancing. 

The school was founded nearly 40 years ago by Iris and Laurie Felton; based in Hornchurch, they were very successful competitive dancers and Commonwealth champions. Originally called Stardust Dancing Centre, in 2003 its name was changed to Starlight Dancing School, and there are now three generations of the family continuing to teach and encourage people to dance: Iris and Laurie’s daughter, Lorraine, and grown-up grandchildren, Emma and Chris, who are also champion Latin American and ballroom 10-dance champions, ranked 24th in the world. 

Apart from being talented and patient teachers, they also arrange wonderful dancing holidays; this latest trip was based at the Toorak Hotel in Torquay, which boasts a superb dance floor - nothing “postage stamp” size here! and Emma and Chris decorated the ballroom with red, white and blue balloons and Union flag bunting - a truly festive scene.  

Every morning, we attended “workshops," where we were taught different dances and routines. The highlight of the week, however, was learning the steps of The Platinum Waltz. This dance has been specially created for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with choreography by Mo Stewart and Jim Currie, and music composed by David Read. It is a beautifully elegant waltz, perfectly suited to the occasion and our Queen’s long reign. 

Each evening, the after-dinner dances had special themes: there was a fancy-dress night, with everyone present proving how imaginative and creative they are;  a formal evening, and a sparkly dress and tie night. 

 

Queen Aelthflaed (King Alfred's daughter, and Queen of Mercia), and King Arthur

We also took part in the quiz competition; there were heats each evening, with questions on songs, dance steps and royal themes. Our team was called “The Jubilations,” which proved highly appropriate, as it was a great thrill to learn we had won!

 "The Jubilations Team"- winners of the Quiz!

Finally, there was the Farewell Ball, a great culmination of a memorable week, which inspired me to write some "Starlight Stanzas” about the holiday - A Platinum Poem - which I performed for all the guests at the Ball. In it, I also mention the names of everyone from the Starlight Dancing family, who worked so hard to ensure we all enjoyed a splendid holiday - including, of course, Iris Felton, the doyenne of the Starlight school. 

A Platinum Poem - Starlight Stanzas

We embarked on a dancing vacation

With starlight dreams in our eyes

We knew there’d be much to discover

With new dances and friends as the prize.

 

 

With fresh scenes and delights, we twisted and twirled

As choreography took us into different worlds

We learned new routines and sequences, too –

Each evening was different – and the days simply flew!

 

Our feet were fleet to a quickstep’s beat

And our hips fell prey to the rumba’s sway

We learned the Platinum Waltz, especially created

For the Queen’s Jubilee to be celebrated

 

With themed evenings of fun and imagination

Fancy dress sparking amazing creations

Black and white outfits, and formal attire

And ties and gowns sparkling with sequins of fire.

 

Thus Neil and Lorraine, Iris, LJ and Chris,

And Emma and Steve made these evenings pure bliss!

And so, tonight, toast the Farewell Ball –

And a marvellous holiday enjoyed by us all!

Alexandra Wilde

June 2022

 
In the foyer of the Hotel there was a book which all visitors could sign with messages of goodwill to the Queen; after the Jubilee weekend, this will be sent to Buckingham Palace. I am sure there could be no better record to prove how much we enjoyed celebrating this unique occasion.

 

We Meet Up With A Dear Friend

We Meet Up With A Dear Friend

We were so blessed with the weather on Saturday, 14 May; it was warm and sunny, and just perfect for a visit to the Epping Ongar Railway - our first foray, in fact, since the pandemic struck, and put a stop to so many of the happy things we love to do.

Our dear friend David came down from Macclesfield, and stayed in a local hotel, and we spent a wonderful weekend together. David in the son of a lovely lady called Zelma, who used to live in Durban, and when my Mum was also in Durban, she and Zelma were such good friends. Like my Mum, sadly Zelma is no longer with us, but having David back in England again means we can all meet up, share happy experiences with each other, reminisce about old times, knowing our friendship will endure forever. 

Last weekend really proved the point - it felt like it was only the other day when we had last met up, and we just carried on as before!  

On the Friday, Wendy came over to cook her signature dish of steak and onions, with Yorkshire puddings; we had a lovely day, relaxing and just chatting. Like every city, over the years Durban has seen so many changes; it was interesting remembering how it used to be, with all the shops we knew and loved to visit; the cinemas, the Theatre Playhouse and the City Hall, which was designed by Stanley Hudson, as a replica of Belfast City Hall.

Then on Saturday, we drove to North Weald, and exchanged the e-mailed paper tickets for our traditional card "Edmondson" tickets to travel on the EOR.

 We caught the 11.00 a.m. steam service, and what a thrill it was, to be riding behind a loco working hard on its way from North Weald to Ongar, and back again! It's been a long time since we last did that, and it was so good to be back.

David and I got permission from the driver to climb aboard the footplate, and had time for a quick chat with the fireman, building up the fire ready for the off.  

We were also allowed to look round the shed - being careful to avoid any trip hazards! - and saw Isabel, the star of Bob's book, "Isabel Finds A Home." At the moment, she is being refurbished, and her wheels are off, but we all hope it won't be long before she is fully restored, and given a clean bill of health to return to service. 

 This little piece is really a reminder we can keep everything going: friendships, engines, seeing volunteers at the Stations who were genuinely pleased to see us. Apart from everything stalling for so long because of the pandemic, during this time some of the railway folk have also had to cope with various health problems of their own - like I had last year - but we have shown that, with a little bit of effort and determination, we can overcome all these obstacles.

The best part was sharing our great affinity with the EOR with David, and we all hope it won't be long before he can make another trip down south to see us - and enjoy more chuffing times!