Mechanical Memories Magazine

My good friend David Lascelles worked there for twenty-five years, and he recalls the
day the owner smashed up half a dozen old Mutoscope viewers with a hammer and
threw them all in a skip. But after David had done his twenty-five years in the arcade,
he asked if he could buy one of the all wins upstairs, as a sort of memento. The owner
said, "What do you want one of those for? They're no good, they're on old money, it's
not worth anything." Despite David's efforts and all the work he had done, he never
got one!
When the millennium came along, there was some sort of payment to be made to
the council regarding out buildings, so they decided to knock down all the old sheds at
the rear of the Marine arcade. A lot of the surviving machines were moved to their
sister arcade, Jacksons Radio (the arcade had closed but the building was still OK). I
saw every machine that came out of those sheds. I liked an old two-player football
game, but the metal had gone white with corrosion. Most of these machines were very
badly water damaged from years of neglect - they were literally falling to bits, rust
and woodworm everywhere. I've sent Jerry a picture, taken by the arcade mechanic; it
shows the condition of that football game. It was still a thrill to see to actually see all
those machines from my past.
Essex two-player Football machine.
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