Penny Arcade

The other attraction at the garden centre was an old-fashioned Penny Arcade, full of vintage fruit machines, games and the kind of peep-show attractions that used to be a feature on the piers and seafronts of our seaside resorts. You could exchange modern coins for a handful of old copper pennies and then play the machines. The girls loved it! 

We had our fortunes told by the 'fortune-teller' (above). She told me that I had to do that job I've been putting off! (There are plenty of those, starting with the hedge that needs trimming!) 

There were all manner of early 20th century machines that showed gruesome, animated scenes or that old favourite 'The Laughing Policeman' (which used to make me cry when I was little!) 

You could waste your pennies on whizzing little metal balls around flick-lever machines to try and win a packet of sweets,

and, of course, there were the 'one-armed bandits'. Get three fruits in a row and you win the jackpot, but it rarely happens. We had more success with the machines with an arm like a crane that picked up sweets.

To end the fun, you could watch a puppet show. It reminded me that as a child I had quite a few string puppets. Spent most of my young life disentangling them but they were fun. 

Elsewhere in its vast sheds the garden centre has a few bits of old garden machinery and vehicles like this little truck. It's a great place to while away an hour or two. You can even buy plants there ! 😂