33 The great British seaside: various locations, UK
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Neil Chakraborti
Abstract
It started with a warm doughnut. Like any other eight-year-old city-based kid with only grown-ups in tow, a day trip to the seaside could feel infinitely less appealing than parents might assume (Why the boring long car journey? Why couldn’t I be at home playing Subbuteo with my mates?). But with an air of confidence my dad whisked me off towards the seafront, bought us a bag of warm doughnuts and sat us down on a secluded part of the beach. In my eight-year-old head, everything about that moment felt both unfamiliar and utterly perfect: the sand in my toes, the lapping of the waves, the warmth of the sun, and of course the sugary gorgeousness of those doughnuts.
It’s a memory that kick-started my love affair with the seaside and has lived with me for many decades since. It feels relevant here, not just for the waves of nostalgia that it evokes but also for the rather more sinister encounter which followed soon afterwards. My dad and I walked back along the seafront to meet the rest of our family for a stroll down to the funfair. What should have been the springboard for more happy memories soon took a different turn when the family behind us in the queue used insulting language to belittle us in deliberately loud voices. References to our ‘curry smells’, ‘Paki’ heritage and ‘funny’ accents were all invoked in a way which felt both humiliating and alienating in an environment in which no bystanders stepped in to offer support.
Abstract
It started with a warm doughnut. Like any other eight-year-old city-based kid with only grown-ups in tow, a day trip to the seaside could feel infinitely less appealing than parents might assume (Why the boring long car journey? Why couldn’t I be at home playing Subbuteo with my mates?). But with an air of confidence my dad whisked me off towards the seafront, bought us a bag of warm doughnuts and sat us down on a secluded part of the beach. In my eight-year-old head, everything about that moment felt both unfamiliar and utterly perfect: the sand in my toes, the lapping of the waves, the warmth of the sun, and of course the sugary gorgeousness of those doughnuts.
It’s a memory that kick-started my love affair with the seaside and has lived with me for many decades since. It feels relevant here, not just for the waves of nostalgia that it evokes but also for the rather more sinister encounter which followed soon afterwards. My dad and I walked back along the seafront to meet the rest of our family for a stroll down to the funfair. What should have been the springboard for more happy memories soon took a different turn when the family behind us in the queue used insulting language to belittle us in deliberately loud voices. References to our ‘curry smells’, ‘Paki’ heritage and ‘funny’ accents were all invoked in a way which felt both humiliating and alienating in an environment in which no bystanders stepped in to offer support.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures x
- About the editors xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
- Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
- Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
- From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
- Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
- The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
- The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
- The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
- The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
- The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
- Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
- Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
- Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
- Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
- The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
- The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
- The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
- Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
- Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
- Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
- ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
- Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
- Magaluf: Majorca 147
- ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
- Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
- The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
- Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
- The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
- The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
- Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
- The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
- Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
- The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
- The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
- The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
- Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
- The staycation: home 230
- The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
- Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
- Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
- Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
- The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
- The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
- Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
- Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
- Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
- Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
- One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
- Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
- Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
- Conclusion 322
- References 325
- Index 394
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures x
- About the editors xi
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction 1
- Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
- Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
- From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
- Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
- The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
- The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
- The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
- The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
- The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
- Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
- Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
- Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
- Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
- The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
- The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
- The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
- Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
- Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
- Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
- ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
- Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
- Magaluf: Majorca 147
- ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
- Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
- The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
- Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
- The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
- The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
- Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
- The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
- Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
- The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
- The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
- The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
- Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
- The staycation: home 230
- The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
- Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
- Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
- Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
- The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
- The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
- Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
- Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
- Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
- Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
- One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
- Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
- Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
- Conclusion 322
- References 325
- Index 394
