Mechanical Memories Magazine

Before My Time
Part Two
By Robert Rowland
Here we have the second part of the story from my good friend David Lascelles, of his
schoolboy adventures around the seaside amusement arcades in Mablethorpe during
the 1950s
Dried peas - the crane saga
One type of machine that was high in popularity during the 1950s was the crane. This
novelty machine, in its various styles, would deliver a huge variety of prizes (with the
necessary skills), from combs, plastic broaches, flashy rings, to bazookas, pan pipes,
and those plastic birds that you filled with water and blew the tail to make them
warble. The prizes were attractively arranged, many standing upright in a two-inch
deep sea of dried peas. The prizes were deposited down a chute into the collection box
below, the accompanying peas falling through into tins below, to be re-used.
One popular craze among us boys back in those days was peashooters, inspired I
suppose by such revolutionary publications as the Beano and Dandy. Great fun, but
used safely, never towards the eyes etc. Peas were a bit scarce, and of course the
cranes were our main source of supply. The system was to block the small outlets in
the prize box with things like tissue paper, pellets or plasticine. We would then go
round later to collect the accumulated peas for ammo. (The punters in the main would
just make off with the prizes).
Being barred from an arcade during the summer holidays wasn't ever so pleasant,
even though we realised it was the usual outcome from undesirable activities should
you get discovered. But as one of a group, it was frustrating to be hovering about
outside whilst your pals were inside playing the machines. On one particular occasion
two of us, being on the outlawed list, were outside one of the arcades. A few yards
inside stood a lollipop crane; a free-standing single unit, as opposed to the large six
sider at the far end of the arcade (the bigger, more productive cranes were too far
inside enemy territory to risk a raid - the single one was easier.)
Left, 'Jacksons Radio ' arcade in Mablethorpe, c. late 1950s. This is the very arcade
referred to above - note the Bryans six-sided crane towards the back of the arcade.
I've printed this sideways to make it as big as possible. Some blown-up sections are
included throughout Robert 's article.
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