0:00:02 > 0:00:05'Childhood holidays? Oh-ho! The anticipation seemed endless!
0:00:05 > 0:00:09'The holiday itself? Well, it was over too quickly.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10'So in this series, I'm going
0:00:10 > 0:00:15'to be reliving those wonderful times with some much-loved famous faces.'
0:00:15 > 0:00:17This is a memory I will treasure!
0:00:17 > 0:00:20'Every day, I'll be arranging a few surprises
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'to transport them back in time.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- I feel as though we're about to go over the edge.- Don't say that!
0:00:26 > 0:00:29'We'll relive the fun...'
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Ah! Whoa!
0:00:31 > 0:00:36'..the games and the food of years gone by...'
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Oh, I'm so excited.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Oh, the taste... taste of your childhood.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46'..to find out how those holidays around the UK helped shape
0:00:46 > 0:00:49'the people we know so well today.'
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Waaaah!
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'So buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.' Oh, yes.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59We're going to get the water-skis out in a moment.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07I'm on my way to meet a lady who knows a thing or two
0:01:07 > 0:01:10about what's going on in the world.
0:01:10 > 0:01:16She was born in London in 1945, on Christmas Day, no less!
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Now there's a picture that should be in all the newspapers.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Becoming one of the first female editors of a national newspaper
0:01:24 > 0:01:30in 1987 earned her the title The First Lady Of Fleet Street.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35In 2008, she was awarded an OBE
0:01:35 > 0:01:40for her services to journalism and broadcasting.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And she brushed shoulders with royalty again
0:01:43 > 0:01:46when she covered William and Kate's wedding.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48My invite must have got lost in the post!
0:01:48 > 0:01:51And strictly speaking, her daughter -
0:01:51 > 0:01:54oh, she knows how to keep people on their toes!
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Know who it is yet? Hold the front page.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It's Eve Pollard!
0:02:00 > 0:02:01Oh-oh-oh!
0:02:01 > 0:02:05And I'm on my way to pick her up in this vintage Vauxhall,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09which is almost identical to the one she would've gone on holiday with
0:02:09 > 0:02:10when she was a whippersnapper.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Eve! Eve! Wait for me!
0:02:13 > 0:02:15It's not Adam, but Len's coming!
0:02:18 > 0:02:23Eve Pollard, OBE no less, grew up in Maida Vale in London
0:02:23 > 0:02:26with her younger twin brothers, Peter and Ralph.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31Her mum Mimi came to England from her home country of Austria,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33and her father, an inventor called Ivor,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35originally hailed from Hungary.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39The couple met in London after fleeing Nazi persecution
0:02:39 > 0:02:41and were married in 1943.
0:02:41 > 0:02:42As a child,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Eve always had a keen sense of what was going on in the world,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50so it was no surprise that she ended up holding court
0:02:50 > 0:02:52with some of the biggest powers in world politics.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55She's met Ronald Reagan, interviewed Tony Blair
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03She's even spent time in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05when she picked up her OBE.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Not only has she been editor of the Sunday Mirror,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13the Sunday Express and Elle magazine in the US,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17she's also a regular authority on our TV screens.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18'Phew!'
0:03:20 > 0:03:22SHE LAUGHS
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- Hello! I love this car. Was this my old car?- Yes.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Oh, I thought...
0:03:31 > 0:03:33- Lovely to see you. - Lovely to see you, Len. How are you?
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- I'm jolly well. - It looks rather nice, isn't it?
0:03:37 > 0:03:42Back in the 1950s, a Vauxhall like this would've cost Eve's dad
0:03:42 > 0:03:49about 750 quid, which is the equivalent of 18,000 in today's money.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50Whoohoo!
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- You must've been a posh family. - No. My father...
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We weren't a posh family, but my father liked cars,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58- so we suffered and he had lovely cars.- Yeah!
0:03:58 > 0:04:01But I can remember - I had twin brothers -
0:04:01 > 0:04:06my whole life sitting in the middle to stop them fighting.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11- So, where are we off to?- We're off to Margate.- And what's the year?
0:04:11 > 0:04:12'55.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Rock Around The Clock.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16So you'd probably have had that on the wireless.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Probably, in-between lots of very dull old songs that we didn't like.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24- Yeah, course! Shall we rock and roll?- I'd love to.- Come on, then.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- I'll let you in.- Thanks. - Look at it.- Isn't it amazing?
0:04:32 > 0:04:34'For more than 250 years,
0:04:34 > 0:04:39'the Kentish town of Margate has been a leading seaside resort.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44'As well as its famous sandy beaches, it also has a charming old town.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48'When the sun shines, I can't think of anywhere better to be,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53'especially when I've got the company of a lovely lady by my side.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57'Today, I'm taking Eve back to the places she would've visited
0:04:57 > 0:05:03- 'as a child, to relive those heady days of picnics on the beach...'- Oh!
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- Oh, gherkins!- Gherkins!- Definitely gherkins. You're a genius!
0:05:06 > 0:05:11- I'd forgotten about those.- '..and fun times at the fairground...'
0:05:11 > 0:05:15This was the apex, the whole point for me.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'..as we discover the things
0:05:17 > 0:05:21'that made Margate home to the holiday of a lifetime.'
0:05:21 > 0:05:24- How's that?- Lovely.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Before any holiday truly begins, first,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34you must set out on a journey, and for ten-year-old Eve
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and her family, that meant climbing aboard her dad's pride and joy.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42So, it was 1955, so you must've been a baby.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Well, we came here three different times.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48- My father was a mad Hungarian inventor.- Oh, right!
0:05:48 > 0:05:53- And some years we had money, and most years we didn't.- Right.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55And so when we had money,
0:05:55 > 0:06:02- we came down and we rented a house in Cliftonville...- I know, yeah. - ..that smelt of dog.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- Oh, yeah. Not so nice.- Not so nice.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10- Loads and loads of wonderful hydrangeas in the garden.- Lovely.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12It was me and my mum and dad
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and my twin brothers, who were a bit younger than me.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18And why was it Margate?
0:06:18 > 0:06:22- Was it a particular favourite of your parents?- I think...
0:06:22 > 0:06:27My parents were both Continental, so they knew nothing about anything.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32But they'd obviously enjoyed holidays at home
0:06:32 > 0:06:35when they were growing up, particularly my mother.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38My mother lived in Vienna and was quite well-off,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42and she used to go to places like Bratislava,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45- and even once went to Paris on a holiday.- Oh!
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- Well, that is exotic.- Exactly.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So they knew they wanted to go on holiday.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55They just had to hear what other people, English people, friends...
0:06:55 > 0:06:59They probably said, "Margate's very nice." And once they found it...
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Then we never went anywhere else.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Well, I must say, though, if you get a beautiful day like today,
0:07:05 > 0:07:06why not go to Margate?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Back in 1955, when Eve and her family
0:07:13 > 0:07:17were motoring towards Margate, the world was a changing place.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Winston Churchill's second spell as prime minister came to an end
0:07:21 > 0:07:25when he retired at the grand old age of 80.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26And in the same year,
0:07:26 > 0:07:31we said a final farewell to another great mind - Albert Einstein.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34In happier news, over at Aintree,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38a young British racing driver's career was hitting top gear.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42At the age of just 25, the magnificent Sir Stirling Moss
0:07:42 > 0:07:46became the first English winner of the British Grand Prix.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51And in the UK charts, American cabaret singer Rosemary Clooney
0:07:51 > 0:07:55hit the top spot with Mambo Italiano.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58# Hey mambo! Mambo Italiano!
0:07:58 > 0:08:01# Hey mambo! Mambo Italiano! #
0:08:01 > 0:08:05But it's back to the present day now, and I'm excited to say
0:08:05 > 0:08:10that we're just moments away from the magic that is Margate.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- Oh, I think this is it!- Uh-oh! - Oh, look! Oh, magic.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- Oh, look how beautiful this is. - Oh, that is fantastic.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18Isn't that gorgeous?
0:08:18 > 0:08:20# That's nice. #
0:08:22 > 0:08:27- Lovely. Oh, lovely. - Is this how you remember it?- Yeah.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Of course I can remember that very tall lighthousey
0:08:30 > 0:08:32whatever it is at the end of the pier,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and I can remember the pool because I liked swimming in there
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- rather than the sea, cos I was scared of...- Jellyfish.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43My brothers used to terrify me, but we came in August, so there were
0:08:43 > 0:08:48hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people here, not a bit of sand.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I mean, it was just packed everywhere.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53And so did you all come down together
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and find a corner where you could lay out a blanket?
0:08:57 > 0:09:00We all came down, then we brought towels.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I think we had one or two special sun towels,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06but the rest came from the bathroom.
0:09:06 > 0:09:12- And we'd have our swimming costumes on underneath.- Yeah.- Off, run, go.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- And, of course, we'd bring a picnic here.- Right.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Of course, because my parents were Continental,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22our picnics were not like everybody else's.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- So it wasn't cheese and pickle sandwiches?- No way!
0:09:25 > 0:09:26I'd dream of that.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29First of all, they would come down, in the back of this lovely car,
0:09:29 > 0:09:34- there would be three or four big salamis for slicing...- Oh, right.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39..and brown rye bread with caraway seeds, which I always hated,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42because that's what we used to have.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46When I used to go on a school trip, those were the sandwiches my mother
0:09:46 > 0:09:49would give me, and I would dump them the minute I got to school.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52It's a funny thing - as you get older, you're quite happy
0:09:52 > 0:09:57to be different, but when you're a kid, you want to be exactly like...
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- You want to conform, like everybody else.- That's right, yeah.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04- So, you coming along with brown bread, eh?- And salami!
0:10:04 > 0:10:08And salami, and they've all got lovely white bread with jam in it...
0:10:08 > 0:10:12- Exactly!- Yeah! Yes, of course! - Disaster.- Disaster.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And of course, now, your parents would be hovering over you...
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Of course - "Don't go down there!"
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- But then, my parents would be sitting somewhere.- Yeah.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26They'd show me, like, there's a thing here or an umbrella there,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28or there's somebody here and we'd go.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- Off you'd go.- Amazing. Amazing freedom.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40Ian Dickie is a local historian, and he runs the Margate Museum.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44With his expert knowledge, he's the ideal chap to give us
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the lowdown on the idyllic beach resort Eve remembers so fondly.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The '50s and '60s were when everyone wanted to come to Margate.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55It was a seaside resort par excellence. Entertainment was great,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57we had the Dreamland, we had the Lido,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00we had entertainment on the beach, little roundabouts on the beach,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04there was Punch and Judy on the beach, there were donkeys on the beach - it was the place to be.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And the photos we have in the archives show
0:11:07 > 0:11:10masses and masses of people just descending on Margate.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15But Margate's appeal as a seaside resort goes much further back than that.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Margate's popularity first started in the mid 18th century, round about
0:11:20 > 0:11:261750, when Dr Russell wrote a paper about the efficacy of sea water,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and people came here to take the waters,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33in which they were taken out to sea in a bathing machine, stripped off,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36dunked in the sea, brought out and given a pint of seawater to drink.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Not exactly effective, but it did the job!
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Don't forget, London was in the middle of the Industrial Revolution.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44There was thick fog, smog in London,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47so people were beginning to get out of the town to get some fresh air
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and fresh sea, then it moved on to about 1815, which is
0:11:51 > 0:11:54when the paddle steamers first came here, 200 years ago this year,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and they brought the people from London
0:11:57 > 0:12:01to spend their time in Margate either for weekends or long weeks,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04or even longer in some places.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07So it was very much then a holiday resort, but only,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and I have to stress this, only for the rich and famous,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13because the working class people didn't have holidays.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Well, we all know Eve is well-accustomed to mingling
0:12:16 > 0:12:17with the rich and famous now,
0:12:17 > 0:12:22but back in 1955, a holiday was exciting for much simpler reasons.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- Do you recognise this?- I do vaguely.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31This would be lit up at night, I think, because that's what...
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Anything lit up was what excited me about going on holiday,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38apart from having fun and going swimming and all the rest of it.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41And did you go in?
0:12:41 > 0:12:44I don't think I went...we went in the Lido because I think it
0:12:44 > 0:12:48cost money, and anything that cost money was forboden.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- Out of the question. Out of the question!- Yeah.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55But I remember going past this, and I had no idea what a lido was.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I'm still not entirely sure. Could you tell me?
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Well, it turns out that the Margate Lido was a whole entertainment
0:13:03 > 0:13:05and amusement complex.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09To find out more, I want Eve to meet Terry Goldman.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13He actually moved to Margate because of the Lido!
0:13:13 > 0:13:14We came from Leeds.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17My father was a cabinet maker, and in 1946,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19he was asked to come down here
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and build this amusement area called the games hall, and the people
0:13:23 > 0:13:25he worked for said, "Well, you can talk so much -
0:13:25 > 0:13:28"would you like to stay and run the bingo?" Which he did.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32He stayed in the guest house just opposite here in Ethelbert Road,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36then bought the house next door and myself and my three brothers
0:13:36 > 0:13:37and my mother,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40we moved down here and had the six-bedroomed guest house.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44With credentials like that, Terry's the perfect person to tell us
0:13:44 > 0:13:49all about the Lido, and remind Eve of what it was like in its heyday.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50That was the games hall.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Over on the left-hand side there, that was a theatre,
0:13:53 > 0:13:54the Lido Theatre,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58when Tommy Trinder and all the good old-timers, they all played here,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02so it was really buoyant, and where we're standing,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05this used to be an array of deckchairs,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and just over there, there was a gentleman called Tony Savage,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and he would play his electronic organ.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- Oh, nice! - That was this larger area here,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17but there were different levels to here.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21The next level down, there was a place called the Cliff Cafe,
0:14:21 > 0:14:26and that was shows every evening, and just nice entertainment,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28and below that is the swimming pool.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31When I came here, the only thing that was different for me is that
0:14:31 > 0:14:36I couldn't see a grain of sand when I came here, because it was packed.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- Yeah. Wonderful.- August, of course. - What about at nights?
0:14:40 > 0:14:42What was it like here at night-time?
0:14:42 > 0:14:46At night-time, it was vibrant because there was always a show on,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49whether here at the Lido Theatre, at the Winter Gardens,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and so there were thousands
0:14:51 > 0:14:55and thousands of people that had been sunbathing during the day,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57they went to their guest houses and hotels to get changed,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59had their supper and they came out,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and it was just crowded.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05So magical, because London wouldn't have been dull,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07although in the '50s it wasn't exciting then,
0:15:07 > 0:15:12but here, A - we were on holiday, B - my memory, like all peoples',
0:15:12 > 0:15:17the sun shone every day, and lights, twinkling lights all the time,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20and I thought this was the most exciting place on Earth.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21- Yeah.- Yes.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Well, the Lido may have seen busier times, but there are still
0:15:33 > 0:15:37plenty of ways to amuse yourself in Margate and I've picked sev-en!
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Now, I bet you didn't know that the coast of our Margate produces
0:15:43 > 0:15:48thousands of tonnes more seaweed than any other beaches in Britain.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53One man who did know is Dom Bridges and he set up a clifftop laboratory.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56We use seaweed harvested directly off the beach.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00It's 100% natural, everything, from the skincare to the perfumes.
0:16:00 > 0:16:07Rather than having to pack a product with eight or nine individual
0:16:07 > 0:16:12ingredients, it's a really good, you know, 100% natural core
0:16:12 > 0:16:15ingredient that gives you everything you need for skin rejuvenation.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Now, ordinarily, you wouldn't catch me
0:16:18 > 0:16:22covering my body in that green slimy stuff. Oh, no!
0:16:22 > 0:16:26But this man really does transform it into something useful.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28What a clever clogs.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34You don't have to travel to Japan or China to embrace high-end seaweed skincare.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37You can do all that right here on the English coast.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Covering 32 miles of Kentish coastline and countryside,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47the Viking Coastal Trail runs through Ramsgate, Reculver and Margate.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52It offers family-friendly cycling on traffic-free promenades,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56and best of all, you're never too far from ice cream parlours.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Oh! Or a pub!
0:16:59 > 0:17:04So, I guess this would have been your regular daily visit down onto the beach.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Onto the beach, grey skies, blue skies,
0:17:07 > 0:17:12unless it was pouring down, this was where we came every day.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14For us this was heaven, because it was just freedom.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18You could just run, you could jump, you could play.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22As much as you were running around and this and that,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25when you did get tired, were you a reader?
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Oh, well, the nice thing my mother used to do,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31my mother was a reader and encouraged me to be one,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35she would get me Girl comic and before that, she would get me
0:17:35 > 0:17:37another one, I think Schoolfriend,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41and she would save them up for the six weeks before we came,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43she'd wrap them round - I can still remember them
0:17:43 > 0:17:47wrapped round with an elastic band - and then she would give them to me
0:17:47 > 0:17:51on the first day of the holiday and I would read them voraciously,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53every single word in them.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55And so I was a very big reader.
0:17:55 > 0:18:01Eve's mum buying her Girl comic was clearly a magical moment for the future journalist,
0:18:01 > 0:18:07so I've got hold of a copy from 1955, the very time
0:18:07 > 0:18:12when, as a ten-year-old, she would've been here on her holidays in Margate.
0:18:12 > 0:18:19Oh, no! Girl! I always wanted my hair to be like that.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22- Well, it is like that now! - Well, it is in a way.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28- Four pence ha'penny.- Ten tennis rackets to be won this week. Look!
0:18:29 > 0:18:32I would've read this. I would've definitely read this.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- Wendy and Jinx.- Absolutely.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37I read everything.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42- I mean, I read everything including the word "continued."- Yeah.
0:18:42 > 0:18:49I read the recipes that I was never going to make, I read the adverts.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- Oh, you read it cover to cover. - Cover to cover.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54And then probably had another go.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56And I'd take them back to London with me,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and do swapsies with other ones.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- Oh, look. - So how did you get into journalism?
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Well, my father wouldn't let me go to university.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Told me at 14 not to worry about that sort of nonsense,
0:19:11 > 0:19:17because I was going to get married and keep him and my husband...
0:19:17 > 0:19:18Find a rich husband?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Not rich husband, just nice husband,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25and my father approved of, of course, and he said because
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I was going to have children, that was going to be my life,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31so that made me very determined to go
0:19:31 > 0:19:35and do something interesting, so I did a very short art course,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38and then I got a job on Honey magazine,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and I went, and Audrey Slaughter was the editor of Honey,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47and she said, "Do me a double page spread that you'd like to see in the magazine,"
0:19:47 > 0:19:51so I went and drew it all up and filled in every detail,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54and she chose me, because I think
0:19:54 > 0:19:59I'd worried about readers in Hull and Manchester and not just London.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01And I was in, I was assistant to the fashion editor
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and it was a monthly magazine.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And I'll tell you, Len, our world has changed
0:20:07 > 0:20:11so much. I can remember we had a conference, the whole staff,
0:20:11 > 0:20:16about whether the girl in the fictional story, written by Andrea
0:20:16 > 0:20:23Newman, could lose her virginity the month before she married her fiance.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26'Crikey, Eve, I'm not sure I've got the stomach for that
0:20:26 > 0:20:29'kind of thing, even now. What a scandal!
0:20:29 > 0:20:35'But I do have the stomach for a bit of nosh, 1955 style, of course.'
0:20:35 > 0:20:37For most people,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41sampling the local food is a big part of any holiday experience.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43But not for Eve.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Her parents' tight budget meant eating out simply
0:20:46 > 0:20:48wasn't on the menu.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52And with her mum coming from Austria and her dad from Hungary,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55everything had a distinctive European flavour.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59So, to take her taste buds back on a trip down memory lane,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I've ordered a very special picnic.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Well, I'd be fascinated to know what you've put in it.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Well, I'm hoping it's... - It's what I used to have here.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We never had anything as flash as that, Len.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- No, that is posh, isn't it?- It is posh.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- Oh! Ooh, gherkins.- Gherkins.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Definitely gherkins, you're a genius.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23I'd forgotten about those. Yeah, they look nice, actually.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25- They look nice.- They look very nice.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- And, look, nicely packaged, you know.- Very nicely packaged.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32But my mum would've taken them out of the jar and they'd have
0:21:32 > 0:21:36been put in grease-proof, I think, was it grease-proof paper
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- what we used to use?- Yeah, grease-proof paper.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Well, I think this is grease-proof paper we've got on the top here.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45- Yeah.- Isn't it?- Looks like it, doesn't it? Yes, nice.- Yeah.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Best before 1957.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Let's have two, let's live dangerously.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54- Well, we've got them to have.- Yeah.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Now, whatever this is, I'm going to put some on your plate,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- cos we've got to get cracking here. - OK.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04- Oh!- Oh, now, that's more the... Oh, no, look, what's it got inside?
0:22:04 > 0:22:08- Let me help you to take that. - Let me look, let me look.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13- And, look, salami!- Salami.- Mm. - What's it like?
0:22:16 > 0:22:17Mm.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26'Now, this package has got me really intrigued.'
0:22:26 > 0:22:28It could be an unexploded bomb,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31cos you get a lot of those round the coastline.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33It feels like an unexploded bomb.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48All I can say is it's a big one.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50'Look at that for a bit of sausage.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54'With her parents' European roots, a big old salami
0:22:54 > 0:22:57'like this would've been central to Eve's holiday menu.'
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Particularly Hungarian salami and not the French sort,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04but the stuff they would've got at home.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Which, of course, is now very trendy,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12but, at that time, nobody else I knew was eating that sort of stuff.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16- No.- Everybody else was having egg and chips at night.- Yeah.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18But what you eat is who you are.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21That's very, very, true, yeah.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26I guess, you know, your mum and dad grew up eating this stuff.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28And, of course, not expensive.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31- Slice it up very thin, put it in a sandwich.- Perfect.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34- You can make one of those last for weeks.- Bit of gherkin.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35My mother was a brilliant cook.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39She made biscuits, she made cakes, they entertained quite a lot.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42All, sort of, mad foreigners, like themselves.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46- It was like international house. - Yeah.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Also, interestingly, a lot of that generation,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55who escaped the Holocaust, didn't dare have children.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58- Yeah.- So, my parents having three children...
0:23:58 > 0:24:01I mean, a child and then, obviously,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03another child that turned out to be twins, was unusual.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05'Eve's parents were lucky to escape
0:24:05 > 0:24:09'the horrors of the concentration camps themselves, but, like millions
0:24:09 > 0:24:14'of others, the atrocities of the Holocaust had a lasting impact.'
0:24:14 > 0:24:18- Did your parents talk about it? - Never, ever, ever.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23- Yeah.- I mean, that's the very sad thing. My mother died at just 55.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26You found that people who'd been through their experience started
0:24:26 > 0:24:29talking when they were 70, cos they suddenly thought,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32- "We'll die and nobody will believe this."- Yes.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Even now, I talk to Holocaust survivors, or people who
0:24:35 > 0:24:41were in my parents' position, where their parents died in the Holocaust
0:24:41 > 0:24:46and they say, "We're alive still, so we can tell people,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49"so we can be witnesses to what happened."
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Yes. It's amazing, it's...
0:24:52 > 0:24:56- It's tragic and so sad.- Yeah.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02On the other hand, they, like many of their generation,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04came here, they enriched Britain.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- They loved England, it saved their lives.- Yeah.
0:25:08 > 0:25:14Actually, I wouldn't have been born, in a strange way,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17without Adolf Hitler, because my parents would never have met.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22- Never have met, of course.- Never. - One's in Austria, one's in Hungary.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Yeah. - Yeah.- Very strange.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28'With dark days in Eve's parents' history, it's nice to know
0:25:28 > 0:25:33'that a place like Margate invokes so many happy family memories.'
0:25:33 > 0:25:38- Well, nice as it is here...- Yeah. - You know, we've hardly scratched
0:25:38 > 0:25:41- the surface of Margate.- Oh.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- No, Margate, I'm sure, has a lot more to offer us.- Yeah.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I think we're going to go up that way.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51While we empty the sand from our socks, here's the next
0:25:51 > 0:25:56instalment of my seven marvellous things to do in Margate.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01For me, no seaside resort is complete without a proper,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04old-fashioned theatre and Margate has one of the best.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Over the years,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10the famous Winter Gardens has welcomed some of the biggest
0:26:10 > 0:26:13names in show business, from Vera Lynn, to The Beatles,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16even Laurel and Hardy have performed here.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21To this day, it still pulls in some of the biggest names on the circuit.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I wonder if they need a dance instructor?
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Now, nothing reminds me of my childhood more than playing
0:26:27 > 0:26:30with a train set. Whoohoo! Come on.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32As the home of Hornby, Margate is
0:26:32 > 0:26:35the Mecca for model railway enthusiasts.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39This visitors' centre attracts thousands of people each year.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43And brand ambassador Peter Oliver, well, he knows why.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46I suppose, it takes them back to their childhood.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49You know, a steam train, marvellous.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51We used to collect numbers of steam trains.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55It's a hobby, which isn't too expensive to have.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58You can have a nice layout in your loft or in a room.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Not just trains though,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03who could resist the chance to have a go at this?
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Not me.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10In 1955, when a young Eve Pollard was holidaying in Margate,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13there was only one attraction on her mind.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Look, there it is!
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Dreamland.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- This was the apex, the whole point, for me.- Yeah.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Once I'd been there, I wished I could go every night
0:27:23 > 0:27:27and I knew the whole thing about Margate meant Dreamland.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34Dreamland first opened its doors to the public way back in 1880.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36For almost 100 years,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44with people travelling from miles around to try out the attractions.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49Sadly, in later years, the park had a bit of a bumpy period.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54Then, in 2005, after a rollercoaster of a ride, the park closed down.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00But the dreams and the memories still live on for Eve.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04It wasn't just the rides, it was the lights, it was the atmosphere,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06- it was being out at night.- Yes.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08You know, I was tucked in bed most nights at eight o'clock.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11- Yes, and there you were. - Out with my parents.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15My parents, who often weren't in a jolly mood with one another,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19- cheered up, told jokes, were funny, etc.- Yeah.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23There we would go to Dreamland and it seemed like we spent hours
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- there, I should think about an hour at the most.- Yeah.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28You went on rides, you saw the lights,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32- you saw people dressed up and it was magical.- Yeah.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36I mean, this was like Euro Disney, plus all the Disney tours,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38plus everything, in my world.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42- Yeah.- It was very special.- Did you go a lot or was it...?- Once.- Once.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Once during the week,
0:28:43 > 0:28:46but we all went and we all looked forward to it.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49We went two days before the end, so that we could look forward to
0:28:49 > 0:28:51it and then talk about it for the last few days.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54- It was absolutely done like that. - Perfect.- Yeah.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Well, unfortunately, although it is going to reopen,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00it's not open at the moment.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06It's a shame we can't go in. Well, we'd better move on, I suppose.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10- I suppose so.- Do you know...- Yeah?
0:29:11 > 0:29:15..I'm not going to let this stop me from taking you in.
0:29:15 > 0:29:21- Could we go inside?- Len Goodman, head judge.- You can do anything.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25- We're getting in.- Sev-en! - Sev-en! Come on!
0:29:26 > 0:29:28- Are we really going inside?- Yeah.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30You bet we are, Eve.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Dreamland is being rebuilt and, though it's still
0:29:33 > 0:29:38closed to the public, I've sorted out exclusive access just for us.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Right, there you are.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43This looks nothing, of course, like my memory of Dreamland,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46- which was always at night.- No, but...
0:29:46 > 0:29:51But I do remember this ancient rollercoaster and it's wood,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54- it's all wood.- Yeah.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57It makes a real clatter, that's the nice thing about wood.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Now, they're all electric and they're smooth,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02- you hear the screams.- Yeah.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06- This makes a real wood on wood noise, I love that.- Yeah.
0:30:06 > 0:30:12- I was told that over 100km of wood has been used to construct it.- Wow.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15It's very nice that it's so old-fashioned,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19because now they're all electric and like trains almost.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23- Yeah. So, did you go on it? - I did go on it, I was petrified.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26My brothers liked it much more than me.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29- My mother never would go on it, my father occasionally came.- Yeah.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33- And then thought it was madness.- So, is this, sort of, bringing it back?
0:30:33 > 0:30:38All I remember is the flowers and all the things picked out in
0:30:38 > 0:30:42- lights, the magical thing about it. - Yeah.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46- There were gentler rides that took you through in my imagination.- Yeah.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49- So, there's a gentle ride. - A water thing.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53- A water thing or a slower thing, a boat-sized thing.- Yeah.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57- Then you'd pass by beautiful lights or flowers, roses, all lit up.- Yeah.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Well, I must say,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04they're doing a fantastic job in bringing this all back to life.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08I think the iconic thing about Margate,
0:31:08 > 0:31:11when you speak to people who've been there, Dreamland.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14- Dreamland.- And then for umpteen years it's been closed.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17And also I think a lot of older people come back,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20- because this is how it used to be. - Yeah.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23And it brings back lovely memories of what was.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25'Dreamland didn't just appeal to tourists though.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30'One man who would be thrilled to see it reopen is Mick Tomlinson.'
0:31:30 > 0:31:32He's lived in Margate all his life and as a nipper,
0:31:32 > 0:31:37he'd bunk off Sunday school and spend his pocket money at the park.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Dreamland has become a, sort of, lifetime hobby of mine.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Obviously, it had many rides, some we were too young to go on,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48and some sideshows, which were very popular.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51One comes to mind where I'd be walking past the big scenic
0:31:51 > 0:31:54railway ride and there used to be a little theatre there.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59And there were big posters outside saying, "Girls in a bubble bath."
0:31:59 > 0:32:03So, we raised enough money to go in and have a look at this.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06So, in we go and there were these two rather nice young ladies
0:32:06 > 0:32:09all in these bubbles and everything else.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12We weren't alone, obviously, other members of the public were there.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14They'd be saying,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18"Come on, lads, give us two and six and we'll stand up for you."
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Oh, all right. So, we threw two and six, which we found.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Of course, we were quite disillusioned,
0:32:24 > 0:32:26because they were wearing bathing costumes.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28But it was all part of the fun.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32And these are lovely memories which I have of Dreamland.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Well, there'll be no steamy seaside
0:32:35 > 0:32:39shenanigans taking place today, I can assure you of that.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42For Eve and I, it's a much more sedate affair.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46- Here we go, hold that pole.- Oh, Len, thank you very much.- Up we go.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48- Up we go, careful.- Careful!
0:32:48 > 0:32:51- There you are, I'll go in first. - Are we going to sit in the carriage?
0:32:51 > 0:32:54- Why not?- I'll get in there.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57- Lovely and tidy.- Oh, very nice.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01- Oh, how's that?- Lovely. - Nice, isn't it?- Nice.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- Now, this is my sort of ride. - Me too.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Gentle, just round and round, little wave at your mum as you go past.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11- Every time. - Every time, of course, yeah.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13And then you have endless photographs of little
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- waves at your mum.- Of course you do. - Yeah,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18- that's what the whole point is.- Yeah.- I'd have liked to have
0:33:18 > 0:33:21- been on a horse, if I was a child. - And me, cos they had a sort of...
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Yeah, up and down, but we're ready for this now, aren't we?
0:33:24 > 0:33:27- This is more age appropriate. - Age appropriate.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31- It is, apparently, a very old one. - Yeah, this is an original.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Look at that, you can see how it's old, made of old bits.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35Yeah, of course you can.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38- Made of old bits, yeah, bit like me. - Bit like me.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42'Unfortunately, the carousel won't be moving today,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45'which seems more unfair than funfair.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49'But it's lovely and I can take the opportunity to discuss Eve's
0:33:49 > 0:33:51'Fleet Street career.'
0:33:51 > 0:33:55What a wonderful thing, you became the editor of a national newspaper.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00- Yeah.- Now, when was that?- '87. - Right.- It was the Sunday Mirror.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05Bob Maxwell, who most people have heard of, offered me the editorship.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07I'd edited a magazine called You,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10which you got with the Mail on Sunday.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13The Mail on Sunday had done very well and he offered me
0:34:13 > 0:34:14the editorship.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17- It was a male-dominated... - Completely.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20- What was the reaction, there you are?- Well, it was difficult.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23I remember ringing up the printers on a Saturday night and saying,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26"Where's the press? Where's the print?
0:34:26 > 0:34:29"It's late," and they say, "Let me speak to your boss, love,"
0:34:29 > 0:34:31and I said, "I am the boss."
0:34:31 > 0:34:35"No, don't be stupid, love. Let me speak to your boss, love."
0:34:35 > 0:34:36So, I said, "Well, I am the editor."
0:34:36 > 0:34:38"No, no, don't be stupid, love..."
0:34:38 > 0:34:40- I mean, that's how it went.- Yeah.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44So, it wasn't easy and a lot of people resented you,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47because you'd taken a job that had, more or less,
0:34:47 > 0:34:52always been owned by a male. And it hasn't improved.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Yeah, you must've been brilliant, cos it's such a pressurised job.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59I think I thrived on it, up to a point.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02- But, of course, there were weeks that drove you crazy.- Yeah.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05And there were stories you got and couldn't print that drove you mad.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Yeah.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13Now, here's the scoop on my top headline
0:35:13 > 0:35:16attraction in magnificent Margate.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22One of the smallest theatres in the world, the Tom Thumb Theatre,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26was originally built as a coach house in Victorian times and
0:35:26 > 0:35:31converted into this charming, little 58 seat playhouse, in the mid 1980s.
0:35:31 > 0:35:36Whether they're attracted by the quirky interior design or the truly
0:35:36 > 0:35:39diverse range of acts that grace the stage,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43it's small wonder that people keep on coming back to this place.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47Now, I don't know who had the job of counting them, but there are
0:35:47 > 0:35:50reportedly over 4.6 million shells lining
0:35:50 > 0:35:53the walls of our next attraction.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57The Shell Grotto has been welcoming members of the public since 1837.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00While nobody knows who actually made it,
0:36:00 > 0:36:04the way it was found is nothing short of incredible.
0:36:04 > 0:36:10The grotto was discovered in 1835 by accident, by some children.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14Brother and sister were playing and they uncovered a tunnel
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and came down here and found the grotto.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19They would come down here with lamps around their neck and play.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Eventually, the adults wondered where they were getting to
0:36:22 > 0:36:26and the grotto was found.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29An amazing story for an amazing place.
0:36:29 > 0:36:35Guaranteed to delight everyone, from tiny tots to old fossils, like me.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39Finally, my number one tip for Margate is this.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Named after one of Britain's best loved painters,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45the Turner Contemporary art gallery.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49Situated on the seafront, on the very site where Turner
0:36:49 > 0:36:52himself would stay when he visited the town.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55It's full of historical and contemporary art and,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58what's more, it won't cost you a penny to get in.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02Whoa! I love a freebie.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06Our day out in Margate is almost over, but, before our dream
0:37:06 > 0:37:10date draws to a close, there's time for one last chinwag.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14'I've been enthralled by how Eve landed her top
0:37:14 > 0:37:18'job on the nation's newspaper, when it was a man's game.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21'Over the years, she has mingled with the great, the good
0:37:21 > 0:37:23'and the bad.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26'Now, I want her to really dish the dirt, spill the beans,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28'name some names.'
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- Now, you've interviewed so many people.- Yeah.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Who would you say was the most interesting?
0:37:33 > 0:37:36The one, you know, "Oh, I'm going to interview so and so."
0:37:36 > 0:37:40Mrs Thatcher was curious. Everybody said she hated women.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44If you went to her and you were absolutely direct and said,
0:37:44 > 0:37:47"I'm working on the Sunday Mirror, I want to interview you.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49"I know our paper is not your favourite paper,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52"but I'm going to ask you this, this and this."
0:37:52 > 0:37:54I asked her lots of questions about women.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57- She was fine.- Yeah. Now, what about the Queen, did you meet her?
0:37:57 > 0:37:59I've met the Queen.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02I've been very lucky enough to meet the Queen a few times.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06I met her, when I really talked to her was at an event
0:38:06 > 0:38:10for the Journalists' Charity, which was started by Charles Dickens.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14She's great, cos she comes to these events with loads of journalists.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17- You can imagine how much she likes us.- Yeah.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21And we're pushed into a room right up ahead
0:38:21 > 0:38:24and on my invitation is says four and a dot.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26So, we're in the dot room.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30And I'm the fourth person she comes to, so it's so well organised.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33She said to me, "I gather you've been the only woman..."
0:38:33 > 0:38:36I think, at the time, who's been chairman of this charity to raise
0:38:36 > 0:38:40money for, you know, journalists who are in trouble as they get older.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44So, I said, "Yes, Ma'am, they have sheltered housing
0:38:44 > 0:38:49"and I've reserved number 22 for me and number 35 for my husband."
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Well, she threw her head back and laughed.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54If you think about it, it's like her own dear life.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Well, afterwards, every editor said, "What did you say?
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- "What did you say?" So, that was great.- Yeah.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03And then after that I was very lucky enough to get an OBE.
0:39:03 > 0:39:04'Whoa-ho!
0:39:04 > 0:39:07'She's gone toe to toe with the Iron Lady,
0:39:07 > 0:39:09'faced up to Fleet Street's most ferocious men
0:39:09 > 0:39:13'and even been given a gong by Her Majesty the Queen.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16'I wonder if Eve thinks coming to Margate with her parents all
0:39:16 > 0:39:21'those years ago set her out on the path for such success.'
0:39:21 > 0:39:26You came here as a child with your parents and I think this is true,
0:39:26 > 0:39:30I think for everyone, your parents tend to shape who you become.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32Oh, sure.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37It reminded me of the loveliness of my mother, particularly,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40- I mean, collecting all those comics for me and not telling me.- Yeah.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Then surprising me, then it wasn't a surprise,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46cos she did it every holiday, but it was something I looked forward to.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51- Yeah.- And they really had no money and they were determined to give us
0:39:51 > 0:39:54the best in a land they knew nothing about really.
0:39:54 > 0:40:00- Yeah.- And, considering me and my brothers did OK...
0:40:00 > 0:40:06- I think you did better than OK. - It's amazing that they did so well.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09I'd love to believe, wouldn't I, that they
0:40:09 > 0:40:13could look down and say, "Oh, there she is, she's in Margate again."
0:40:13 > 0:40:15I don't think they can,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17but it's reminded me of all the good times we had.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20- Yeah.- That's better than anything, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Well, I tell you what, I'm so happy that we met.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Apart from the fact that you've been so entertaining,
0:40:27 > 0:40:31I got an opportunity to come back here, to Margate,
0:40:31 > 0:40:36- where I haven't been for 50 years, I guess.- Yeah.- Maybe more.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39And you've picked the most gorgeous day. It's been great, hasn't it?
0:40:39 > 0:40:41It's been great. It's been lovely.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46It was on my bucket list, a day out with Len, by the seaside.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Couldn't be better.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53'Eve Pollard, what a formidable lady, eh?
0:40:53 > 0:40:57'And what an honour to spend a day in her company, reminiscing
0:40:57 > 0:41:02'about her childhood holidays, here in marvellous Margate.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05'We arrived in style,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07'sampled some salami...'
0:41:07 > 0:41:10All I can say is it's a big one.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13'..and talked Fleet Street, behind the scenes.'
0:41:13 > 0:41:17I remember ringing the printers up on a Saturday night and saying,
0:41:17 > 0:41:19"Where's the press? Where's the print?
0:41:19 > 0:41:22"It's late," and they said, "Let me speak to your boss, love,"
0:41:22 > 0:41:24and I said, "I am the boss."
0:41:24 > 0:41:26'But we haven't quite finished yet.'
0:41:26 > 0:41:30- Eve, I've got something here for you.- No, not more salami.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32No, no, no, no.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37- This is the Holiday Of My Lifetime scrapbook.- Oh, look! That's lovely.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42- This is full of fabulous photographs.- Yes, it's just a little
0:41:42 > 0:41:46thing to remember the day by.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48My special gift, for a very special lady,
0:41:48 > 0:41:53is a picture book of memories from our time together.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55This is lovely. I've told you much too much.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57THEY LAUGH
0:41:57 > 0:42:00'And I've got one final surprise that will, hopefully,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03'keep her memories of Margate alive for years to come.'
0:42:03 > 0:42:07- We thought on the train going home...- Oh, yes! - ..the Girl magazine.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Shall I tell you how much I love this?
0:42:10 > 0:42:14A - I love it, and B - I'm going to show it to Claudia's daughter,
0:42:14 > 0:42:16my only granddaughter.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- Yeah. - And just see what she makes of it.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22The trouble is, if you read the first episode here,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24you might have a job getting the next issue.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27I think I will, since it was June 1955.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30- 1955, yeah.- But there we are, we can make it up ourselves.- Yes.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33It's beautiful. It's brought it all back.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- So, listen, can I give you a cuddle?- Please.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41- And just say thank you so much, I've had such a great day.- So have I.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44- We've caught the sun.- We've caught the sun, we've had some fun.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47We've laughed. We've caught the sun, we've had some fun.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52'And I can't wait to tell Claudia what a day I had with her mum.'
0:42:52 > 0:42:56But, for now, it's so long to the magical town of Margate.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59And thanks for the memories that made up
0:42:59 > 0:43:02the holiday of Eve Pollard's lifetime.