Ray Jones recounts his “Scally Days”

We were about 12 or 13 years old, so it must have been around 1968 or 1969 and the New Brighton tower (before it burned down), and funfair had been permanently closed for some time. Of course this minor obstacle didn’t stop us going on the big dipper. I think it was in some sort of figure of eight design and was made mostly of wood, but you could see it was pretty old and worn out.

Incidentally, the tower was about 100ft taller than Blackpool’s:

We started at the beginning and climbed up the first slope where the chains drag the cars up. Walked round the bend and edged down the first big drop. That’s when Naller went crashing through the thin rotten wooden planks. He managed to grab onto something with two hands (memories gone), and was just dangling there, hanging on for dear life. The rest of us thought this was hilarious, until we realized how high up we were. So we pulled him back up and carried on around the dipper a bit more cautiously this time until we got back to were we started.

Then we climbed up the outside of the Helter Skelter. At the top, we noticed that you could climb over a tall gate at the base of the old tower ballroom, that led into the old waxworks.

It was still full of old waxwork figures that looked pretty creepy and frightening. The further you went in, the darker it got. That’s when someone shouted, “THAT ONE MOVED!”………….Terror got us over the high gate in record time!

It was a very windy, cloudy day and the tide was in, which made it pretty tricky to get to the fort (Perch Rock), and so we couldn’t lift any big rocks on the shore to find massive crabs. Looking to get up to some more mischief, we could see the waves crashing in from the Mersey and over the Marine Lake wall. So we thought it would be a good idea to walk along the full length of the wall and try to dodge the waves.

I’m pretty sure the wall was much narrower in those days and there weren’t any railings then:

Of course two of us got thrown into the Marine Lake by a giant wave. Didn’t realize it was so deep………..we couldn’t feel the bottom. Can’t remember how, but we eventually got out and ran like hell to the safety of the more open part by the outdoor baths, which was next door to the Marine Lake. I think it was the biggest outdoor swimming pool in Europe. It had one of those big fountains you could sit on, like in Butlins. They’ve built a Morrison’s or something on it now………idiots!

It was about time we headed home. So, off we trudged, soaking wet and my mate with only one shoe, as he’d lost the other one when we went flying into the lake.

We must have still had our return tickets, soggy, but still usable. But, when we got to the Pier Head, none of us had any money left for the bus back to Speke. We’d all spent our last tanner each on a Strawberry Mivi. Well, nothing else for it but to get on the 82C, and when the conductor comes round, give him our names and addresses. I wonder if they ever sent a demand letter to that person with the false address?

It turned out to be an eventful day out in the end, just one of my many childhood adventures.