Holiday plans

[Lencoboy]

My husband loves the arcades. It's my idea of hell due to the sensory aspect - loud bangs, the smell of anticipatory sweat, and having to manoeuvre one's way over a sticky Axminster carpet (last cleaned in the 70s) but it's worth it to see his face light up when he's wandering around with a cup full of 2 pence pieces.

Ditto for me with arcades. Not only what you have listed yourself, but the endless array of flashing lights, all the loud music as if it's a mini-disco, some of the loudmouth gobsh1tes who inhabit said places who bang the machines yelling 'COME ON', often accompanied with four-letter expletives, and their often reeking of BO.

At least these days, us non-smokers don't have the torment of having to contend with endless fag smoke in those environments anymore.

[spectrum123]

Whereas those grabber machines are awful..

The rage when the claw grabs onto a decent prize, gets a few inches up, then drops the buggering thing.

My grandmother has more grip than those claws, and she's been dead 20 years.

[pulisa]

...Not that I'm smiling about the loss of your grandmother, of course.

Unfortunately my autistic daughter had developed a fixation on Tweetie Pie toys..The grabber machine was full of the blighters..I spent a fortune trying to get a Tweetie to no avail..Then a "professional" grabber machine couple came along and within a few minutes had secured a toy which fell into the collection area and my daughter raced forward to grab it for herself..

There followed a deep and meaningful discussion with said retired couple who agreed to part with their booty for £25 cash..and the deal was struck.

Bad I know...but desperation leads you down dark pathways and I was desperate..

This happened in Cromer, Norfolk in 1997. I bet that machine is still there...

[BlueIris]

Not a lot changes in Cromer, Pulisa.

My grandfather died in the public toilets in the main car park there. It was 1981, and I still remember vividly my dad coming out and me, age 4, not really knowing what was going on.

[NoraB]

My grandmother has more grip than those claws, and she's been dead 20 years.

[NoraB]

...Not that I'm smiling about the loss of your grandmother, of course.

Unfortunately my autistic daughter had developed a fixation on Tweetie Pie toys..The grabber machine was full of the blighters..I spent a fortune trying to get a Tweetie to no avail..Then a "professional" grabber machine couple came along and within a few minutes had secured a toy which fell into the collection area and my daughter raced forward to grab it for herself..

What?

Do you mean they put their life savings into those damn machines until they won something? Or they have the inside knowledge on how to beat 'the claw'?

There followed a deep and meaningful discussion with said retired couple who agreed to part with their booty for £25 cash..and the deal was struck.

They took money from you when it was clearly for a child? The tight old goats!

Bad I know...but desperation leads you down dark pathways and I was desperate..

My ex stood outside Toys R Us at 4 o clock in the cowabungering morning for a new batch of Mutant Turtles to arrive. All part of the joy of parenting lol

[Lencoboy]

Not a lot changes in Cromer, Pulisa.

My grandfather died in the public toilets in the main car park there. It was 1981, and I still remember vividly my dad coming out and me, age 4, not really knowing what was going on.

You must be roughly the same age as me, as I was 4 on my birthday in July 1981, and I shall be 44 next month.

I wonder if that public toilet block in Cromer still has the same fixtures, fittings and general decor as it had 40 years ago, or has it since been refurbished?

[pulisa]

That sounds truly awful, Blue. I'm sorry I brought up Cromer. Your poor dad having to cope with that whilst trying to protect you.