As older generations have said for many years, kids today have never had it so good.
For some of us, a trip to Blockbuster Video to peruse the large VHS cases was a treat – now, everything’s there on a screen, just a tap away, with no need to worry about fiddling with the tracking controls on the video player.
And Brooklands Park in East Worthing – who can forget the boating lake, train, golf centre and go-karting, which meant it could easily make a whole day out for families. Mind you, the new children’s play park there would have been great 30 or 40 years ago.
Blockbuster and Brooklands as it was were just two of the staples for children who grew up in Worthing in the 80s and 90s but there were many more.
Below, we take a look at 12 things that might spark some memories of childhood and adolescence – 11 of them fun, one perhaps less so.
Honourable mentions must go, too, to the late Horace Duke, who waved to countless children with his white-gloved hand while out and about in Worthing and Shoreham, often with his bicycle and wearing a straw boater, and to attractions like the boating lake and Peter Pan’s Playground.
13. The Carioca
The Carioca club was on the corner of Eriswell Road and Rowlands Road, Worthing, and, in 1984, hosted a little-known band called R.E.M. By 2001, they were one of the biggest acts in the world when the Carioca building was demolished to make way for flats and a Co-op. (We know, kids of the 80s and 90s would have been a bit young but it wouldn't surprise us if they said they were at the gig – most people living in Worthing at the time claim to have been there!) Photo: Google
14. The Aquarena
Who remembers going for a splash outside at the Aquarena when the weather was nice enough? Photo: Worthing Herald
15. The Aquarena
This picture shows the Aquarena being demolished after the Splashpoint leisure centre had opened. Who else remembers flying down the yellow slide? And climbing up to the top diving board before thinking better of it and climbing back down again?! Photo: Eddie Mitchell
16. BHS
Something which might be less fondly remembered is being taken shopping for clothes in BHS, which sometimes involved having to try on things on the shop floor to avoid queueing for the changing rooms – and protests being met with the words 'the more fuss you make, the more people will look' Photo: Eddie Mitchell