Interesting piece on the Broomway

[dolabriform]

Short but interesting I found,

 

[johnalison]

Fascinating. I've seen a number of his films and they are all good.

 

[Jan Harber]

There is another thread about The Broomway started a week or so ago. Further to this thread and the earlier one, I've just remembered that when we were sailing from Paglesham in the '60s, '70s and '80s one of our fellow sailors there was Norman Bishop. He and my dad, Jack Coote, were founder members of the Roach Sailing Association.
Norman's family owned a well known and long established ironmongers, Rome & Bishop in Rochford. He told us that during his school holidays (between the wars) he went out along The Broomway with the Rome & Bishop horse and cart to deliver orders to farms on Foulness.
On arrival at the farmyard his job was to go to the top of the hay rick from where he could see out over the seawall. He had to watch the tide as it returned across the Maplins and when it reached a certain point or beacon he had to alert the driver so they could set out on their return journey to Rochford in good time to avoid being washed away.

 

[Frayed Knot]

There is another thread about The Broomway started a week or so ago. Further to this thread and the earlier one, I've just remembered that when we were sailing from Paglesham in the '60s, '70s and '80s one of our fellow sailors there was Norman Bishop. He and my dad, Jack Coote, were founder members of the Roach Sailing Association.
Norman's family owned a well known and long established ironmongers, Rome & Bishop in Rochford. He told us that during his school holidays (between the wars) he went out along The Broomway with the Rome & Bishop horse and cart to deliver orders to farms on Foulness.
On arrival at the farmyard his job was to go to the top of the hay rick from where he could see out over the seawall. He had to watch the tide as it returned across the Maplins and when it reached a certain point or beacon he had to alert the driver so they could set out on their return journey to Rochford in good time to avoid being washed away.

Wow, this post brings back some memories! I remember Norman and your dad (in whom I was rather in awe) When he heard that mine didn’t work he gave me an old gas hob for my first boat which I think came from Norman’s.
I used to love going into Rome & Bishop’s with my own dad in the 1960s - I can almost smell the paraffin & turps & hear the nails & screws being tipped into the metal bowl on the scales...

 

[Jan Harber]

Did you ever visit the chandlery at Palmeira Arches, Westcliff? That was a similar experience to Rome & Bishop, a sort of Aladdin's cave of an emporium... the aroma there was of tarred twine, I can smell it now... and nothing was hermetically sealed in plastic...
Nostalgia ain't wot it used to be.