'We went two at a time for holidays at Littlehampton, probably Nan (Auntie Hilda) and our Grandparents felt that was enough to cope with as they had the 'Brit' (Britannia Inn) to manage, especially in the summer when they were busier than usual.' Barbara Greenshields (nee Jupp), born in 1924, recalls the school holidays spent at the 'Brit' with her younger brothers, David, Brian (known as Peter) and Michael.

'When I was old enough to be put in charge of my three brothers, Nan would meet the bus and we walked to the 'Brit' where Grandpa always greeted us with 'Hallo my pretty little girls and boys', even though we were only one of each.

Later, if Grandma had gone to the cinema we went to the Palladium in East Street to meet her. She had a privilege ticket, which entitled her to two free visits a week as Grandpa advertised their programme in the bar. (There were two different ones then).

Our route to the beach took us along Pier Road by the river, where we children liked to walk along the low floodwall bordering the pavement. We seldom went near the mouth of the river, as we knew it was dangerous to go in the sea there and, from time to time, people were drowned because they did not heed the warning notices.

Our patch was further along in front of the Green, where the sand was excellent for building castles and where I learned to swim when I was eight or nine. Nan would paddle beside us, her skirts tucked up underneath her knicker legs, holding up our chins to that we didn't get a salty drink, and telling us what to do with our arms and legs. (I don't think she could swim herself.) It was a great day for me when at last I found myself moving along in the sea without my tummy scraping the sand underneath me. Afloat at last!

Nan never took sandwiches for our picnics, but a chunk of loaf, butter and marmite or paste, (sardine and tomato was my favourite), or cheese and celery spread, and armed with a sharp knife. Occasionally we had tinned peaches and cream for a special treat, so that meant taking the tin opener as well as dishes and spoons. I don't remember ever tasting sand in the food - perhaps we didn't notice.

Sometimes when the tide was high we picnicked on the Green and, before going home would watch 'Uncle Charlie's' Punch and Judy Show. Other beach entertainers were 'Doctor White Eye' and his minstrels. These all had blackened faces but Dr White Eye had a white diamond shape round one of his eyes. They performed in the evenings near the pier, playing and singing with the audience joining in the choruses. 'I'd like a doughnut with jam in the middle' was a favourite and on one occasion two girls in the audience presented them with a bag of doughnuts. Another popular one was: -
'We all went up up up up a mountain
And we all came down down down down down again
The higher up the mountain the greener got the grass
We met a silly Billy goat who wouldn't let us pass'

The best place for shrimping was on the West Beach in the little pools, round the supports that held up the long jetty beside the river. We were ferried across the river in a rowing boat, a penny for adults and ha'penny for children. We dipped our nets in the pools, stalking the unfortunate shrimps. We only caught the big ones and these were put in our buckets and taken home for Grandma to cook; though I didn't like them much.

We thought Dad was very clever because if he paddled with us at low tide he would sometimes catch baby flat fish under his feet. He showed them to us, flapping in his hands before returning them to the sea to hide again in the sand. His flat 'ducks and drakes' stones skimmed and jumped across the water many times before they sank and, with much practice, we eventually achieved reasonable success at this ourselves.

When I was older and stayed up a little later, I would help by collecting glasses from the tables outside and taking them into the kitchen, where Nan and Grandma were kept busy washing them. I was too young to go into the bars during opening hours, but we had to pass through the licensed part to reach the stairs at bedtime. As I lay in bed I could hear muffled talking and laughing below and if I managed to stay awake long enough I would at last hear Grandpa's call of 'Time Gentlemen please!'

Autumn and winter visits were shorter. I trundled a wooden hoop along the pathways of the Green and later rode my bicycle. There were walks along the beach or the promenade to the bathing pool, a very bleak and cold looking place in winter, then a little further inland in Norfolk Road was a little sweet shop where we could buy sugar mice. We went 'winkling' on the shingle bank, searching for the big ones, which Grandma cooked. I didn't care for them, but when Peter was small he liked to take a saucer of empty shells to put on a table or chair by his bed at night. Ludo, Halma or Snakes and Ladders kept us amused on wet days and when we were a little older we enjoyed the challenge of quite difficult jigsaw puzzles.

Exploring the 'bogey hole' was quite fascinating and a bit spooky as it was dark and full of seemingly strange shaped objects. With our small torches it was difficult to decipher what some of them were - a large shallow, old fashioned bath which Nan brought out in the spring and filled with water for her baby ducklings to swim on; Grandma's old bicycle (had Grandma really ridden a bike? I found this very hard to imagine), and an assortment of tools and other odds and ends.

If we stood at the grating by the bar steps we could watch people passing by and would call out 'Hallo' to them. They of course, could not see us and would look around trying to see who had spoken to them. We thought this a great joke, especially one day when we were indulging in this mischief; two ladies came by and answered us. So we repeated our 'Hallo' to which they again replied. We were wickedly enjoying their puzzlement. 'Where is it?' one of them asked, so we repeated our call again. Then, 'It must be a parrot' they decided, whereupon we retreated into the darkness and collapsed into giggles.

The coming of warmer weather encouraged visits to the round pond with a model sailing boat, a pastime enjoyed by adult enthusiasts as well as children. The boat was launched into the water and with luck would bob its way across the pond, to the opposite side. Quite a lot of energy could be spent walking round the pond to haul in the boat, then sending it off again on its next voyage.'

This is a pastime you don't see people enjoying these days, either young or old. It's such a pity as, for me, it conjures up a picture of joy, peace and tranquillity - a rare thing in today's World of stress.