Going to the seaside is a cherished part of childhood. But things don’t always go smoothly. 

My father, Bob Skinner, wrote in yesterday’s Observer magazine about an ill-fated family trip to Southend in the late 1920s. I too remember an early day trip, from Cardiff to Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset. (In those days the paddle steamers went from the Pier Head in Cardiff Bay.) Within minutes of getting off the boat I had cut myself on a piece of glass on the beach, requiring an urgent visit to the first aid station. It must run in the family…

This photo shows Dad, his father and cousin on a more successful seaside trip in the 1930s. We think it was taken at Margate.