Inside the Big Issue: Nostalgia and the rebirth of British seaside resorts

On a sunny summer weekend the British seaside is a buzzing place to be. Thousands of us follow an instinctive path to the country’s edge for a sniff of the sea, a paddle and an ice cream on the prom. For all the well-rehearsed problems of our coastal towns it’s still an ingrained habit to go for a day trip; we did invent the seaside after all. The first recognisably modern resort in the world was Scarborough, which first began to attract visitors way back in 1626.

Over time, the infrastructure of pleasure turned the built-up seaside into a very different place to the untrammelled open coast with highly distinctive types of buildings, entertainments and foods. Think piers, promenade shelters, pavilions, Punch and Judy, donkey rides, potted shrimp and sticks of rock. There’s a lot to love in our seaside heritage, we’re just not very good at acknowledging it.

According to journalistic convention the ‘death’ of the British seaside occurred as we all took cheap package deals to reliable foreign sunshine in the 1970s and 80s. The faded grandeur of British seaside towns reflects the times, but celebrating the social legacy of a holiday golden age will make them shine again.

What else is in this week’s Big Issue?

A bridge to nowhere: in praise of motorway service stations

It’s 65 years since our first motorway services opened. These days they are all video games, phone covers and massage chairs, servicing minds and bodies craving diversion after hours of sitting in a car eating wine gums and being told to keep right in 38 miles. In this week’s issue, we dive into their history, and their future.

‘These children are chosen. And that is a really powerful thing’

The cost of living crisis means that, for the first time in years, there are more children waiting to be adopted than adults registered to adopt. Nearly half of children (46%) are waiting more than 18 months. Big Issue talks to parents who have made the adoption decision.

Sir Karl Jenkin’s letter to his younger self

An only child, the composer lost both his parents before he was 30, but found solace in music and meeting the love of his life.

“My father and I had a strong bond. He died just before I met my wife, funnily enough, I was in my late 20s. He had a heart attack when I was in the south of France playing a gig at a jazz festival. The British consul got hold of me and told me what had happened. So I missed the gig and they got me a flight home. That was quite a devastating blow and I had to adjust to that.”

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