Sue Elliott Nichols wanders beside the sea at Southwold, to chat to beach hut owners Janet Gurshlick, Chris Perdy and Margaret Chad... No. 87 is where Janet is; written up in marker pen is Auntie Bon Bon's Beach Hut - Don't Ask. No fancy plaque for Janet. The doors of Janet's hut were flung wide to show the traditional 1950s interior look with different coloured china and glasses adorning the shelves, "I can just be here, where nothing needs to match and is not too grand. It is strange because you forget you're on view. They ask you questions - what do you do in it? Well, I've had a bit of romance in it," and adds with a conspiratorial cackle, "The Doors Were Closed! We managed to fit twenty people in here last night for fish and chips. My mum, adores it - I feed her tea and cake and she usually falls asleep."
The next hut is brightly coloured - a great big sun painted outside in yellow and blue, with a green roof. Chris Perdy is the owner, "We haven't got a name for it we were going to call it Rising Son, for my little boy, but I haven't got round to doing it yet." Chris had always wanted a beach hut, "When my son was born, we got one for him as soon as we could." Children, eh! A great excuse to revert straight back to childhood. "I think of this as my Wendy house - somewhere out the way - just you and the sea. It's lovely."
Margaret Chad's beach hut has been in the family since 1957 when it was built for £100; it's still much-used and much-loved. "We're not allowed to sleep here at night," she explains, "It's one of the rules - but we have had midnight bathes and supper parties with candles - there's no electric light. You bring a lantern down and swim at midnight." It's a lovely having my children and grandchildren down here - everybody's free - you haven't got any commitments. I hope the young ones will keep it on. I wouldn't want to sell it, it's for the family to enjoy it and keep up the swimming tradition."