This is an archive of past discussions about Southend-on-Sea. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.
Government league tables for 2003 show that the results for Southend-on-Sea Local Education Authority at Key Stage 3 are better than the English average. (Source : Department for Education and Skills)
This kind of information in so sensitive to change year on year. In isolation it is not particularly noteworthy If there is a fair point to be made about the area's achievement in education, there should be far more information and explanation. Also "Key Stage 3" is jargon that would not be understood by many readers, even many in the UK.
Night life
Do we need all that stuff about Southend's crappy night clubs like Storm and Talk? hardly encyclopedic, esp all that stuff about playing 'cheese' quercus robur 23:34, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Someone should really mention the SOS Bus on the Southend page, there are only about 4 in the entire country and the place that started the scheme says we've got the best one!
Palace theatre
Despite recent edit, the Palace Theatre is well and truly closed, I went past it earlier today and the whole building is boarded up, hence reverted. quercus robur10:48, 14 January 2006 (UTC)
i went to see an excellent show yesterday, it was open i can promise you
Depends on your definition of "from". She was born in Ilford, but grew up in the borough. The article says "Following appearances on stage during her school years at St Bernard's high school for girls in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, her first starring role was in 1965 as Cleopatra for the National Youth Theatre. ". Westcliff-on-Sea is part of Southend. MrWeebleTalkBrit tv11:40, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
What a WONDERFUL place to live!
Southend is one of the world's best kept secrets in my opinion. With a balance of urban and a touch of rural blend sharing the same landscape, the visuals can be awe Inspiring. On any given day, one may see a couple of teenagers riding horses down the street with mom and Pop or some Ferraris, lamboginis, Harley-Davidsons, etc. crusing the strip (esp Saturday night.) The first time I saw miles of dancing grass fields near a local pub with fun seekers smiling, mingling and sipping drinks with someone in a clown suit, I knew right then and there that this, is a very, VERY special place. After living there for a short time, I quickly understood that the people of Southend are unique in many ways. The word that sums up the residents of Southend is genuine! They truly are just that. No more, no less. Only fifty minutes or so from London (ironically, I met folks that has never been to London in their life and has no buring desire to go), one of the largest and busiest cities in the world, in contrast, Southend has few of London's big city worries. The people are cordial yet private. Family is Southend's leading motivation. In other words, Southend raise kids well. It's an area where you will see an elderly couple taking an after dinner evening stroll with the grand kids (and I hope that never ever changes.) Within minutes, one can hop on a bike and find themselves at the seafront cruising miles and miles of boardwalk enjoying the breeze or chatting with a millionaire across the table at one of the many seafront eateries. As for entertainment, take your pick. From theater e.g. The Cliff Pavilion to the trendiest night spots. From a year-round beachfront amusement park for the kiddies to a choice of casinos for punters of every level. A clean, safe, friendly place that has strong uncompromising middle class values in all areas, the prefered way to spend any given weekend will alway be with family and friends. To the Southender' there just isn't any other way worth their time. However, overall, put in proper proportion, whatever problems Southend may perceive are minor indeed. The local residents seem to have developed a near perfect balance of work and family priorities. Family wins hands down! Family first, work second. So, what's important in Southend? Family. Simple! Truth is, in my opinion, Southend is one of this planets biggest and best kept secrets and, that's just the way the excellent people of Southend-on-Sea like it.
Are you from a parellel universe??? This is clearly a different Southend from the town I've lived in for the last 40 years!!! quercus robur19:47, 2 April 2007 (UTC) (date noted, BTW...)
Thanks Noimright. It's nice to hear some positive comments about Southend for a change. It seems that most Southendians (and I admit; I am guilty of this myself at times) dwell on the unpleasant aspects of the town and, generally, only have negative things to say about the place. --Thirst4knowledge06 (talk) 10:43, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
The first comment is far from the truth. The commenter says he grew up in East Cleveland, Ohio, USA in the 1960s and 1970s. His only edits have been to this talk page and to the talk page of East Cleveland, whose article states that it is very poor. I guess his only experience of Southend is one visit in the 1960s, and his memory of that is all he knows of Southend. Those who know this dead-end town well are aware that there is nothing "awe-inspiring" about it - much of it is run-down and a high proportion of its residents are underclass. There are worse towns in the UK, but there is nothing special about Southend. The rates of homelessness, mental illness and poverty are all much higher than the national average. Ferraris and Lamborghinis are a rare sight. Souped-up Ford Escorts with blacked-out windows, driven dangerously by attention-seeking boy racers showing off along the seafront are much more common. Very few residents have never been to London - a high proportion either work in London or are from London. It has all of London's problems (gangs, alcoholism, stabbings, muggings, beatings, drug addiction, overcrowding), except for gun crime. There are no undiscovered secrets in Southend - it is very similar to other large and medium sized seaside towns in SE England, such as Clacton, Margate, Hastings, Brighton. The claim that it is safe and peaceful is ridiculous - on Friday and Saturday nights, the Seafront and town centre are like a war zone. It is not all bad, but the first comment is so far from the truth that it needs to be countered. 188.28.20.223 (talk) 14:37, 3 June 2011 (UTC)
Layout
Hello editors,
Just a note that the article would be better presented according to the recommendations presented at WP:UKCITIES. The article as it currently exists is a little jumbled and I think UKCITIES would be the right way forwards. Hope that helps, -- Jza84 · (talk)03:36, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
Topics a former resident would like to see covered
As a one-time resident with happy memories of the Southend-on-Sea area, here are some topics that I (and children and friends) would find interesting in encyclopedia articles. Many may seem self-evident, but they are not, from several thousand miles away, with Turner Classic Movies providing the image of British sea side towns via Laurence Olivier as The Entertainer, Richard Attenborough in Brighton Rock, Finlay Currie in The Brothers, Rebecca and The Wreckers. I think that my mentioning the following topics does not intrude on guidelines for writing about settlements. I realize they span Thames Estuary, Thorpe Bay to Leigh on Sea, and linked articles, but putting them in one place avoids need for duplication).
1. Data on the annual number of day trippers over the years, their demography, travel time, expenditure, impact on growth of transportation.
2. Descriptions (and pictures) of how the people on day trips or longer vacations spent their time and what they saw, listened to and bought. In particular:
2.1 On the cliff top level: the floral clock, the bandstand (and the bands that played, the choice of music).
2.2 Between cliff and promenade levels: the cliff lift (how it worked), the Shrubbery, the Illuminations (in the 1930s and 1940s -- I don't know how much longer).
2.3 At promenade level, transport.
2.4 Promenade, north side: shops (commodities, including "rock", "naughty" postcards), beach huts.
2.5 Promenade south side and beach: rented deck chairs, changing cubicles, sail boat rides (including to queue of merchant vessels during dock strike), tidal behaviour, seaweeds, marine life (children catching crabs in groynes), sea front entertainers (if there were any -- I think there were not, unlike Blackpool), slot machines (certainly under pier entrance).
2.6 Pier: boat trips (to Margate and where else?), sand artists at low tide, a seal that swam around for a few days in about 1950.
3. Description of cockles would be useful. Many people do not know what these are.
4. Description of Kursaal before and after it burnt.
5. "Personalities" such as the promenade preacher who drew crowds chanting "And I'll tell you the story of Harry and Mae West".
6. Description of York Market: itinerant or fixed vendors, variety of goods (included American comic books in late 1930s).
7. Was there an arcade at top of High Street that might be considered example of early equivalent of modern shopping mall that merits mention?
8. Width of Estuary, progressing from Leigh eastward. Distance between low and high tides. Mud flats (and their perceived therapeutic value). Mussel beds. Underwater river exposed at low tide.
9. Socio-economics (categorization of residences, home ownership or rental), utilization(private residence, boarding houses, use of vacated houses by troops ?Pioneer Corps? during WWII).
10. Parks, gardens (e.g. library garden in Leigh just west of St. Clement's rectory).
11. Open countryside (e.g. between Leigh and Hadleigh) -- extent, categorization, flora and fauna.
12. Style of railroad engines, carriages, stations.
Re cockles -- direct mention in context of Southend and Leigh illustrates evolution of socio-economics of food consumption. Oysters were considered gourmet food at one time by people who would not set foot where cockles were sold. Now, Leigh brags about its upscale cockle bars.
Re flora and fauna: matter of perspective as to what belongs in an overview. I did not suggest complete enumeration, just statement of category with a few examples. Just a couple of sentences. As interesting to many as some items in the articles at present.
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Is it just me, or is it odd that the main aerial picture of Southend-on-SEA makes the town appear as if it's landlocked?! There are a lot of great photos showing the town's coastline, which is its original reason for existence. Could one not be included please?
Hi, I am working on retail articles across the UK, and have been trying to find information regarding Ravens and J R Roberts. Ravens is the oldest still operating retail business in Southend and is still owned by the same family. They currently operate in Clifftown Road, however they have operated at 3 other locations - 48 High Street, 90 High Street and 24-32 London Road, Southend. However I have no evidence of when they moved between these premises I believe they started in 1897 at 48, before moving to 90 in 1900 - pictures of Percy Ravens at 90 High Street show the distinctive round window that is still retained in the building. They moved out of this premises to London Road, I believe some time in the 1930s as the building has 30s design tones, and Britain above shows in 1928 that the building had yet to be built. Also J R Roberts at some time moved from Nelson Street where they opened in 1899 to 90 High Street but again no record can be found. Any Help would be appreciated.Davidstewartharvey (talk) 11:42, 22 November 2016 (UTC)
30-degree courses?
We read "South Essex College offers 30-degree courses matriculated by the University of Essex". Is the reader supposed to know what a 30-degree course is? 31.52.254.16 (talk) 22:48, 11 February 2017 (UTC)
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Ahh then I misunderstood. When it is AFD then we can remove it here, but as long as he has an entry he is notable for our purposes.Slatersteven (talk) 14:20, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
No opinion about that, but somebody added an un-sourced statement about him on Emma Blackery, and that was—and will be again "soon"—a GA candidate, where I shoot everything without RS first and ask questions later. –84.46.52.59 (talk) 21:28, 17 January 2020 (UTC)
No opinion about that, but somebody added an un-sourced statement about him on Emma Blackery, and that was—and will be again "soon"—a GA candidate, where I shoot everything without RS first and ask questions later. –84.46.52.59 (talk) 21:28, 17 January 2020 (UTC)