The Attendants
By Robert Rowland
Today, I am looking back at the amusement arcade attendants; those men in their
brown or white coats who patrolled the local arcades here in Mablethorpe in the mid
1960s. Most of these attendants were hell-bent on throwing me and my friends out of
their arcades - why were these people so keen to show their authority? It wasn't just
one particular local arcade, it was virtually all of them. Let's look back at some of the
incidents that really happened to me over forty-five years ago .
Funland had two older attendants, Johnny and Len, who were OK most of the
time. However, the biggest threat in Funland came from a little woman with glasses
called Mary who worked in the office at the rear of the arcade. Often, she was stood at
the office door, looking out into the arcade. The moment she saw me, she was out of
that door and chasing me through the arcade. Once she chased me beyond the entrance
of the arcade and out into the crowds in the High Street. She also used to sneak up on
you from behind and I really had to be on the alert. One day I was in Funland with my
mother playing the slots. As I was collecting some pennies from a win, she appeared
from nowhere and grabbed me. Of course, when she saw mother she let go and made
her way back to the office. When in the arcade by myself or with a friend, I was never
actually caught by Mary but I did know a boy who she caught and dragged into the
Three of the attendants in Jacksons Radio arcade, 1950s
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