The Postcard
A Colourmaster International postcard that was published by Photo Precision Ltd. of St. Ives, Huntingdon. The card was posted in Skegness using a 7p stamp on Monday the 11th. July 1977. It was sent to:
Mrs. S. Waine,
12, Valley Road,
Rusthall,
Tunbridge Wells,
Kent.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dear Nan,
Having a nice time.
Weather not bad - warm
but overcast.
Hope you are keeping
OK,
Love Nan."
Skegness
Skegness is a seaside town on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea. The town is 43 miles (69 km) east of Lincoln and 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Boston.
The original Skegness was situated farther east at the mouth of The Wash. Its Norse name refers to a headland which sat near the settlement. By the 14th. century, it was a locally important port for coastal trade. The natural sea defences which protected the harbour eroded in the later Middle Ages, and it was lost to the sea after a storm in the 1520's.
Rebuilt along the new shoreline, early modern Skegness was a small fishing and farming village, but from the late 18th. century members of the local gentry visited for holidays. The arrival of the railways in 1873 transformed it into a popular seaside resort.
This was the intention of the 9th. Earl of Scarborough, who owned most of the land in the vicinity; he built the infrastructure of the town and laid out plots, which he leased to speculative developers.
This new Skegness quickly became a popular destination for holiday-makers and day trippers from the East Midlands factory towns. By the interwar years the town was established as one of the most popular seaside resorts in Britain. The layout of the modern seafront dates to this time, and holiday camps were built around the town, including the first Butlin's holiday resort which opened in Ingoldmells in 1936.
The package holiday abroad became an increasingly popular and affordable option for many British holiday-makers during the 1970's. This trend, combined with declining industrial employment in the East Midlands, served to harm Skegness's visitor economy in the late 20th. century.
Nevertheless, the resort retains a loyal visitor base, and has increasingly attracted people visiting for a short holiday alongside their trip abroad. Tourism increased following the recession of 2007–09 owing to the resort's affordability. In 2011, the town was England's fourth most popular holiday destination for UK residents, and in 2015 it received over 1.4 million visitors.
Skegness has a reputation as a traditional English seaside resort owing to its long, sandy beach and seafront attractions which include amusement arcades, eateries, Botton's fairground, the pier, nightclubs and bars.
Other visitor attractions include Natureland Seal Sanctuary, a museum, an aquarium, a heritage railway, an annual carnival, a yearly arts festival, and Gibraltar Point nature reserve to the south of the town.
Despite the arrival of several manufacturing firms since the 1950's and Skegness's prominence as a local commercial centre, the tourism industry remains very important for the town's economy and employment. But tourism's low wages and seasonal nature, along with the town's aging population, have contributed towards high levels of relative deprivation among the resident population.
The town is home to a police station, a magistrates' court and a lifeboat station.
The United Republic of Cameroon
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 11th. July 1977, the United Republic of Cameroon's government restored the traditional African tribal chieftaincies that had been abolished prior to independence.
President Ahmadou Ahidjo issued a Decree to this effect. Among the rulers given authority were Seidou Njimoluh Njoya, Sultan of the Bamum people with a capital of Foumban; and Angwafo III, the Fon of Mankon with a capital at Bamenda.
Don Revie
Also on that day, Don Revie, the unpopular manager of the England national football team, resigned three years into his five-year contract. The team had failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 1976 championship tournament and were eliminated from the 1978 FIFA World Cup later in the year.
Don announced that he had accepted a job to coach the relatively new team of the United Arab Emirates.
Yevgeny Karelov
The 11th. July 1977 also marked the death of the Soviet film director Yevgeny Karelov.
Yevgeny Yefimovich Karelov was born on the 12th. October 1931 in Bogorodskoye village, Moscow Oblast, USSR.
Yevgeny, who was 45 years of age, died of heart failure while swimming in the Black Sea.
Boris Tokarev and Evgeny Matveev managed to pull his body out of the water, but Karelov was already dead by that time.
He was laid to rest in the family tomb at the Podolsk cemetery. He was survived by his wife Tatiana Germanovna Karelova and daughter Marina.
On the 4th. November 2016 a new boulevard in memory of Yevgeny Karelov was opened in Podolsk where two monuments were placed: one depicting Karelov, and another the boy from his Nakhalyonok movie.
